


To Resist Both Wind and Tide

by daphnerunning, Galiko



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Univers - Magic, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Faeries and Vampires, M/M, Magic, Sibling Incest, Underage - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 13:50:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 14
Words: 65,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11670372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daphnerunning/pseuds/daphnerunning, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galiko/pseuds/Galiko
Summary: Hasumi Keito has been a Watcher since the age of eight. His charge, Demon Prince Sakuma Rei, is suddenly sentenced to be married to one of the Fae. But fate and love don't obey the laws of demons, faeries, or logic.Creature!AU, where they all go to Yumenosaki but there's an acknowledged underworld of magical creatures.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Uhhhmmm we wrote this a really long time ago and are posting it now in honor of the Deadmans event, hope you enjoy!

The Tenshouin home is luxuriously large. Most people looking at it would see wealth, extravagance, and opulence. They’d look first and see vaulted ceilings, exquisitely trimmed gardens, a sprawling terrace. They’d see dozens of servants, a high-class exterior, and a family who enjoys the finer, quieter things in life.

  


That isn’t what Hasumi Keito sees.

  


He breathes an ancient word and taps his glasses, and the enchanted lenses swirl, revealing a thousand thousand wards, staving off creature and spell alike, until the Tenshouin home looks more like a fortress than a mansion, everything locked tightly into place by tight steel bonds.

  


Keito walks the perimeter three times, checking each and every barrier ward, then nods to himself and steps across. They prickle over his skin, searching for something supernatural, then waft past him, confused, sensing magic, but no creature of darkness, acknowledging his touch to their spells. 

  


Eichi’s parents aren’t home--they rarely are--and the servants know him, waving him up the multiple flights of stairs on his way to Eichi’s room. Keito starts up, then pauses, backtracking to the front door. There’s a slight gap, something most people wouldn’t notice, but it’s Keito’s task to notice everything, even something as small as two unlinked spells in the midst of thousands. Sternly, he brings his hand up to his face, ignoring the servants scurrying away from his chanting, or the way they hurry to hide behind the stone sekibutsu and dosojin placed at most doorways. They’re intelligent enough not to show their fear, but too intelligent to simply ignore what’s happening. 

  


A steel link, invisible to a human except through enchanted lenses like the ones Keito wears, shimmers into existence, joining the two shifting, restless links. Keito gives it a glare, then a satisfied nod, turning to ascend the stairs to Eichi’s room, rapping swiftly on the door. “Eichi. I need to report. It’s fine if you aren’t dressed.” _It’s better if you aren’t dressed._

  


He might be a Watcher, but he’s still eighteen and human, after all.

 

“Keito, you’re so forward.”

 

Eichi, uncaring and uninterested in formalities with his childhood friend, swings open the door with a smile. He’s ‘dressed’, as much as an undone button-down and boxers can suffice as dressed, and he cocks his head, taking in Keito’s expression. “I’m up and about and all you want to do is _report?_ ” Teasing Keito is an ideal pasttime, and one that he will never tire of, no matter how Keito always looks so nervous, like he’s watching a million and one things around him all the damned time. One of these days, taking that stick out of his ass _might_ happen.

 

Keito’s eyes flick to the side frequently in the Tenshouin home, constantly distracted by the skittering spells. Some of them are quite shy. Besides, if he weren’t tracking them, he would be staring at Eichi’s legs. He clears his throat, and pushes up his glasses. “Unfortunately, yes. You look quite well, though. But we don’t have time for that. Something has happened.”

 

“Boring. If it were something interesting, you would have stormed in much more aggressively.” Eichi covers his mouth as he yawns and turns away, plodding his way back to his bed. “Go on, then, let’s hear it, Watcher-san.”

 

“My apprentice found it, actually. Hold on, he sent it to me on the cell phone.” Keito takes out his flip phone, frowning at it, trying to scroll back to the relevant photograph. “Damn. How do you...”

 

“Why do you suck so much?” Eichi complains, turning back around to snatch the phone from Keito’s grasp. He pauses, eyebrows raising as he flips through some of Keito’s texts. “Huh. That’s raunchy. Are you _sexting_ your apprenti—“

 

“I said look through the photos!”

 

“Sexting is way more interesting. Upgrade your phone already,” he adds, rolling his eyes at the shitty flip phone as he finds the photos in question.

 

Huh.

 

“Is that the school gate?” Eichi asks with a tilt of his head. “And…lots of weird, old black kanji?” Or some kind of a summoning circle, _or_ a banishing circle—either way, it’s something magical and something entirely not human left it there. It’s also hard to ignore the stamp of the demon world when it’s right in his face in the form of their personal mon. “I hope this has already all been cleaned up, so that the rest of the student body isn’t alarmed.”

 

“Of course. I had it taken care of.” Souma and Kuro might be muscleheads, but Keito isn’t above putting that to work in his advantage whenever he needs to, and they’re both reasonably good at following directions. He taps the screen, brow furrowed. “This isn’t just a symbol. This is a statement of intent, Eichi. They’re going to do something, something involving the school. The Watchers are ready. I assume that as our liaison to the human world, your forces are equally prepared, should war break out again.”

 

“They haven’t attempted to contact me beyond what you’ve shown me right now.” Which is…annoying, to say the least. Eichi sighs, dropping back onto the edge of his bed. “I’ll send feelers out, of course. If they haven’t contacted me, however, it makes me wonder what they’re planning. Perhaps they’re finally furious with us, and I can destroy a few of them for a good reason for a change…”

 

Keito rubs his temples. “We’re not looking for a reason to go to war, Eichi. A lot of our fellow students will die if that happens. You haven’t seen what it looks like. Besides, we’re forgetting the most important thing.”

 

“I’ve been wanting to see how guns work against supernatural beings for a long while now, though,” Eichi brightly says, unfazed by Keito being a real _downer_ , as per usual. “But go on, keep telling me about what the most _important_ thing is.”

 

Keito’s smile is grim. “Who they’re declaring war against.”


	2. Chapter 2

This isn’t the way that Rei wanted to return from overseas.

 

England had meant freedom, more or less. If escaping Japan and the stupid plans that his mother has in store for him meant also being able to study music and dance (and _jazz_ ) to his heart’s content for a year, then Rei knows that’s as close to freedom as he’ll ever get.

 

Well, hopefully not for long, if he can help it, but…in the meantime, here he is, back at home because of something a little bit more important than freedom.

 

“Ritsuuuu,” he calls, letting himself into the strange, ivy-covered house directly in the middle of a neighborhood of far more _normal_ Japanese houses. Kichijouji isn’t exactly known for foreigners, but this house looks foreign enough with strange, sprawling gardens in front of it and behind, without lights ever coming on in the windows. He leaves his suitcase at the door and keeps hold of his violin, his eyes adjusting gratefully to the almost pitch blackness that waits inside. “Ritsu, I’m hooome.”

 

“Down hee~eere,” a high voice sing-songs, from the shadowy staircase that spirals down to the underground, voluminous curtains wafting in what looks like a breeze, even if they’re indoors.

 

Ritsu sits sprawled out on a chaise lounge next to a grand piano, eating an ice cream sundae with an eye mask pushed up on his forehead. He blinks up at his brother, eyes lidded, challenging, glowing slightly red. “Oh. It’s you.”

 

Rei immediately brightens, jet lag and general disgust about the situation that has brought him home clearing from his mind. “Ritsu! Ahh, look how cute you are!” He drops his violin as well as he trots over. “You’ve gotten so tall while I was gone—Ritsu, I missed you so much, you missed me, right?” He plops down onto the floor next to the chaise, beaming up at him. “Onii-chan’s home now, for good, I promise.”

 

Ritsu turns, laying a foot gently against Rei’s shoulder, then puts a sudden force behind it, shoving him away. “You’re the worst. Go rot in heaven.”

 

“E…eh?” Rei blinks a few times before lurching forward again, grabbing hold of the furniture to stay in place if Ritsu decides to kick him again. “Ritsu, aren’t you glad to see me? Ah, I know I was gone for a long time, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t thinking of you…”

 

Ritsu considers for a moment, then kicks Rei’s other shoulder, then again, a third time in quick succession. “Choose your punishment, then be forgiven. I had to take over a _lot_ of your dumb duties.”

 

“But I’m back now, and you can go back to doing whatever you want!” Rei grits his teeth—Ritsu kicks _hard_ , which, ah, he’s proud of, but at the same time, _ow_. “Ritsuuu, you can do whatever you want to me if you want. I’m not going to let Mom marry you off to some stupid faerie, I _promise_. That’s why I came home.”

 

Some of the anger fades from Ritsu’s face, and he sighs, resentfully patting the lounge next to him. “I should make you sit on the floor, but...I guess you can come up if you’re _really_ gonna protect me.”

 

Rei scrambles up next to him, and immediately wraps his arms around Ritsu to haul him close. “The _second_ I heard is the second I got on a plane to come home,” he insists. “Even if it’s some gross faerie princess, I’ll protect you. Ritsu’s too cute to have to deal with something like that.” Not that it seems entirely _real_ to him at this point—Rei is sure it will be when his mother starts harassing him about _wedding details_ , but oh, he’s not thinking about that right now, absolutely not. It’s just a lot easier to think about how he’s sweeping into save his perfect little brother from a lifetime of obnoxious obligations instead.

 

Ritsu buries his face in his brother’s chest, heart lurching as his mind finally tries to process that it’s _Rei_ , he’s _home_ , he won’t have to be the stupid Demon Prince for events anymore. “I literally do hate that you made me deal with all the ceremonies and stuff for a year, though. Mm, revenge~” he hums, biting Rei’s nipple through his shirt.

 

Rei yelps, but squirming away doesn’t get him very far when he’s still clinging to Ritsu all the same. “Ah, ow, ow, be nice,” he half-whines, threading a hand through Ritsu’s hair to gently tug his head back. “You still bite so hard. You won’t have to deal with anything while I’m home, all right?” That sounds like it will take a huge damper on a budding music career, but…ugh, Ritsu is just so _cute_. How had he managed to be away for so long? “I should have stolen you away with me,” he murmurs, leaning forward to nuzzle at Ritsu’s neck, his breath hitching at how _good_ he smells. That’s not fair. “You would like England.”

 

Ritsu moves his hands up to pet gently at Rei’s hair, then grips suddenly hard, shoving his head down. “The Demon Prince is home,” he says smugly, but with a hitch in his breath, face flushed with the idea of how it _used to be_ , fangs peeking out from behind his lips. “And he can’t wait to get on his knees for me again, right?”

 

The sudden, sharp flush of arousal leaves Rei’s face burning, and the rate at which he slides off the chaise and right back to the floor is just shy of superhuman. “A…anything…anything my cute little brother wants.” Ritsu’s fingers are vice-tight in his hair, but that doesn’t stop Rei from straining against them, leaning forward to nuzzle at the inside of one of Ritsu’s thighs. “Let me take care of you, please—“

 

“Take my pants off with your teeth,” Ritsu says, languid and cheerful. He cocks his head, draping one leg over the back of the chaise, letting the other drop to the floor. “I hope you learned some cool stuff in England. I’ll be disappointed if your mouth isn’t as good as I remember, Your Highness. Eh, wait, you’re using _wagahai_ now? I guess you’ll be Aniija.”

 

“Ritsu can still call me Onii-chan,” Rei quickly presses, licking his lips before he lurches forward, unable to stop himself from pressing his mouth against the hardening line of Ritsu’s cock through his pants. Being catered to is nice— _Aniija_ is so delightfully archaic, Ritsu knows him so well—but being called _Onii-chan_ in Ritsu’s lovely, breathy voice is something else entirely.

 

Rei’s fangs make it easier to unbutton pants with his mouth only, but zippers are always trickier, especially when he’s trying to be careful. The thud of Ritsu’s pulse and the scent of his blood makes him shiver and shift where he kneels, one hand reaching down to squeeze his own cock as he eases Ritsu’s pants down over his cock with both his teeth and the help of long, eager fingers. “I promise it’s just as good,” he breathes, already panting just at the _idea_ of having Ritsu’s dick in his mouth. “Ritsu—“ His tongue runs over his fangs, shivering before he retracts them. “Ritsu, you should…you should feed it to me, please—“

 

Ritsu waits a long moment, just so he can make the case later that he’s not doing it _because_ Rei told him to, but because he wants to. Then he reaches down, grabbing his own cock, rubbing it around Rei’s lips, on his cheek, and back to his lips. “It’s bigger than before you left,” he says, very pleased with himself. “You better still be good at sucking me off. I want the best the Demon Prince can do.”

 

He grabs Rei’s hair with the other hand, shoving it down, nails digging into his scalp as he gives in, feeding Rei his cock, knowing exactly where those sharp fangs are and how to avoid them. “Ahhh...that feels like home, hmm~?”

 

Ritsu’s cock _is_ bigger now—growth spurts are good for things other than just height, apparently—and it’s just enough to make his jaw ache, especially when Ritsu shoves his head down. Rei’s eyes flutter, a groan stuck in his throat, and he swallows as he feels Ritsu’s cock twitch and drip against his tongue, the familiar taste as strong and salty and as much distinctly _Ritsu_ as he remembered.

 

Breathing seems pretty secondary when Ritsu’s cock is in his mouth and he’s being teased and taunted—what _proper_ Demon Prince gets on his knees for his little brother whenever he’s ordered to, anyway?—and Rei sucks and licks eagerly, his fingers trembling as they splay against Ritsu’s thighs, scooting forward more onto his knees to better choke down more of the hard, dripping cock shoved into his mouth.

 

Ritsu lets out a high, breathy sigh, toes curling and trembling when Rei’s mouth descends on him in sweet, suckling bliss. His nails prick in, and he smells the blood flow faster, even in demon veins, when Rei gets harder and harder. “Maybe I should do it the way I used to,” he breathes, eyes alight, cock twitching and dripping over Rei’s tongue. “And ring the bell for the servants to bring me a drink. They can...nnh, they can see that their precious Prince is up to his, ah, old tricks already, huh?”

 

Rei whimpers, his eyes squeezing shut for a sparse moment as he tries not to come in his pants at just the mere idea of that. Ritsu’s terrible, delightfully, _painfully_ so, from his threats to the way his nails dig into his scalp, refusing to give him anything close to the mercy of a full breath. In a way, that makes it even better, and Rei’s breath escapes ragged through his nose as he grabs for Ritsu’s hips, his fingers sliding around to his lower back to keep him close as his head bobs, sticky, slick precome mixing with saliva as he tries not to drool. The head of Ritsu’s cock bumps the back of his throat, and Rei chokes for a brief second, eyes tearing up before he forces his head back down himself.

 

“I’m...gonna come in your mouth,” Ritsu breathes, voice high, breathy, _needy_. His legs tremble, and he drapes them over Rei’s shoulders, forcing him down farther. He wants to talk more, to tease and laugh and mock, but goddamn, Rei’s mouth steals all his senses. It always has, in that long-ago golden-tinted time when they’d been together all the time, spending all day kissing and touching and holding each other.

 

He can’t say anything when one swipe of that sinful tongue sends him into bliss, and he slams deep into Rei’s throat when he comes, his cry a high-pitched, squeaky thing.

 

The number one reason why Rei regrets leaving is not being able to have his face buried between Ritsu’s legs day in and day out.

 

Ritsu sounds so _cute_ when he comes, high-pitched and breathy enough that it’s audible even over the blood pounding in his ears, and Rei swallows hungrily, desperate to not miss a drop, his nails dragging down Ritsu’s lower back to let his fingers better grip the curve of Ritsu’s ass, holding him forward against his face as he swallows loudly, his tongue eager and sloppy as it milks every single drop from Ritsu’s cock.

 

Ritsu flops back happily, a Cheshire smile curving his lips as his feet rub over Rei’s back. “Good boy, Your Highness,” he murmurs, back arching in contented pleasure. “Maybe I’ll let you be my full-time cocksucker again.”

 

Rei slowly pulls off, his chest heaving, and he licks at his swollen lips as he lets his head loll against Ritsu’s thigh. “Ritsuuu,” he whines hoarsely. “If I was good, you could be nice to me—you know how hard doing that makes me…”

 

“Do I?” Ritsu grabs a pillow, and pulls down his eyemask. “Mm, I don’t remember...it’s been so long, I’m sleepy...”

 

“Ritsu, that’s not fair.” Rei turns his head to better nuzzle at the inside of his thigh, parting his lips to suck on the soft, soft skin as a shudder runs down his spine. “You don’t even have to touch it,” he pants out, shifting to shrug one of Ritsu’s legs off of his shoulders, pulling his foot down to press between his legs and against the achingly hard line of his cock. “If you just—just step on it, even…”

 

Ritsu peeks down through the gap under his mask, and shoves his foot down hard, grinding the ball of his foot against Rei’s cock, his heel against his balls. “You like it when I step on it?” he asks, yawning, and then for good measure, adds in, “Onii~chan?”

 

The breath rips from his chest, and Rei sags forward, panting open-mouthed as his knees shift further apart on the floor and he grinds up helplessly, grabbing for Ritsu’s ankle to keep his foot in place. The damp spot forming on the front of his pants grows, and Rei groans, his vision doubling a little when his cock twitches. “C…call me that again, please, please,” he unrepentantly begs, rubbing his flushed face against Ritsu’s thigh. “I-I’m so close, Ritsu, please…”

 

Ritsu sighs, even if his own chest tightens in excitement. It’s hard to stay looking bored, but he’s determined. “Just one time wasn’t enough for you?” he complains, stepping down hard, moving his foot forward and backward, eyes locked on his brother’s face. “I guess I can do it _one_ more time, but you better come....Onii~chan...”

 

Rei would apologize for being so pathetic if Ritsu cared. He doesn’t, though, and instead he caters to it, which is a blessing when he comes harder than he has in a year, breathy, ragged noises leaving his throat as he clings to Ritsu’s leg and barely resists biting down into his thigh, the compulsive need to be surrounded inside and out by all things _Ritsu_ almost overwhelming him.

 

As it is, he just comes in his pants with a helpless groan, trembling with every spasm and hungrily grinding against Ritsu’s foot to drag out every last bit of his orgasm. “R…Ritsu’s so good,” he breathes. “God, I missed you…”

 

Ritsu reaches down and pats Rei’s head, slicking down sweaty hair. “There we go,” he croons. “Good boy. Come up and cuddle me, I’m lonely.”

 

Rei moves as quickly as his floppy, trembling limbs will allow him, because Ritsu is so much more important than starting to chafe in a few minutes. “Don’t be lonely, Onii-chan’s home,” he sighs, burying his face into Ritsu’s hair. “Nnn, tell me what you’ve been up to while I’ve been gone.”

 

“Avoiding people,” Ritsu answers promptly, and yawns, burrowing into his brother’s chest. “Modeling. I’m in Knights now.”

 

“A…ah. That sounds… _nice_ …”

 

Ritsu blinks slowly. “Was that an English pun?”

 

“No, it was…ah…you know, Ritsu, don’t you think your talent would be better served elsewhere?”

 

“I mean, I guess Ra*bits could be fun...they’re new...it’s about being small and cute, I’m cute.”

 

“That’s not what I mean. Maybe a unit with someone who actually knows how to write music.”

 

“fine has professional songwriters. I’ll see if Ecchan wants me.”

 

“Absolutely not. Join my unit, I’ll write you solos.”

 

“I have a sweet high voice. It’d sound so stupid in rock and roll.”

 

“Wrong, having that kind of voice would really set us apart.” Rei nuzzles his face into Ritsu’s hair, then down to his neck, mouthing a kiss there. “It would be fun,” he wheedles. “You can sleep in my coffin at school, special privileges…”

 

“I’m gonna do that anyway,” Ritsu informs him. “So you’d better make it big and comfy and lightproof.”

 

“You know,” Rei exasperatedly says, nipping Ritsu’s neck. “I don’t really understand the allure of being in a unit that has a leader who _fakes_ being anything but human.”

 

Ritsu smiles, showing very sharp teeth. “He’s funny. Mmn, he’s been missing for a while, though...he was trying to run with the big boys. Ecchan took him out a couple months ago, after he destroyed Shucchan.”

 

That makes Rei shift unhappily. “I tried to warn him,” he mutters, recalling his own unpleasant run-ins with Tenshouin Eichi, which had made it much easier to decide to fuck off and go to England for a full year. “Calling him ‘Ecchan’ makes my skin crawl. Don’t be so friendly with him.”

 

Ritsu shifts, enough to get a knee into Rei’s balls, pressing lightly. “Maybe Aniija shouldn’t tell me what to do or who to be friends with. He tucks me in and makes me tea. He wants to know _alllll_ about our family.”

 

Rei sucks in a slow breath, his eyes lidding as he stares up at Ritsu, unimpressed. “And do you tell him _allll_ about our family?” he lowly asks. “Because he’s far from a neutral party, Ritsu. I don’t think Mom would like hearing about this.”

 

Ritsu rolls his eyes, then rolls off the chaise lounge, pulling his pants up. “You suck. Get out. I’m gonna go party with one of Mom’s toys.”

 

“Are you seriously that attached to him?” Rei lurches up, grabbing hold of Ritsu’s wrist. “Ritsu—with someone like him, you have to be _careful._ ”

 

“I’m gonna warn you only one time,” Ritsu says quietly, looking down at his wrist. “You left for a year. You don’t get to tell me what to do...at all. I’ll hurt you.”

 

“This isn’t just about you.” Unease twists in Rei’s belly, and his fingers squeeze gently. “Ritsu. He’s not a good person. I don’t want him to hurt you.” _I don’t want this to get around to our mom’s ears, and for her to put an end to it forcibly._

 

Ritsu lunges, biting Rei’s wrist hard, teeth tearing at flesh, and he doesn’t even drink, just looks balefully up at his brother. “Since when do you care about who’s a good person? You could’ve been here babysitting me for a year. You were _busy_.”

 

Blood drips down from his wrist, unwilling to clot anytime soon, and Rei forces himself not to react, no matter how his head starts pounding even just from that much blood loss. He’s _hungry_ , and Ritsu isn’t helping. “I _care_ because he’s one of the reasons I _left_ ,” he snaps, his nails biting into Ritsu’s arm. “He’s a fucking sadist. Just because he hasn’t thrown you under the bus yet doesn’t mean he won’t—it’s that, or he’s deliberately toying with you because he knows it’ll piss me and the rest of our family off.”

 

Ritsu lunges, slapping his brother across the face with his free hand, and slapping him again for good measure, all the lingering pleasure melting into cold fury. “He likes me! We’re friends! Fuck you, keep this up and I’ll challenge you in front of Mom!”

 

Rei’s lunge is faster than Ritsu’s—stronger, too, in spite of his hunger, and he slams Ritsu back down onto the chaise lounge before prowling over him, pinning his arms at his sides. “And then what? If you win, you won’t be a proxy, you’ll be the real damn thing, married off to a faerie princess in a month.” His fingers flex into Ritsu’s arms warningly. “Be careful, or stay away from him entirely,” he quietly adds, his eyes glinting underneath the mussed fall of his bangs. “I don’t care what he asks you about us, you better not be answering.”

 

Ritsu hasn’t--the real answer is that he hasn’t said a damn thing, but the way Rei is asking, he doesn’t want to give him the luxury of knowing that, so he clenches his teeth shut, turning his head to the side and squeezing his eyes tight. See no evil, speak no evil, and all they’ve ever spoken to each other is evil.

 

Rei exhales a long, aggravated breath. “Don’t show your neck to me, I’m starving,” he mutters, releasing Ritsu with the gentlest of shoves as he climbs off of him. “I’m just worried about you, Ritsu. You don’t have to make a big deal about it.”

 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Ritsu says tonelessly, staring at the ceiling. “You’ve been back in town for at least an hour. Tell me who I should talk to and what to say, I’ll do everything just like you want. That sounds fair.”

 

“When you tell me that Tenshouin Eichi, someone I _know_ is at least half-bent on eradicating us, or at the very least, _containing_ us permanently, keeps asking questions about our family…” Rei trails off, exasperated, and rakes a hand back through his hair as he steps away, snatching up his violin. “Forget it, do what you want. Mom can deal with it.”

 

“Get out. I’m not calling you Onii-chan anymore. And don’t talk to me at school,” Ritsu adds, turning over and burying his face in the back of the couch. “I wish you’d stayed away.”

 

Coming home feels like he never left when he’s presented with things like this, actually. Rei heaves a sigh and says nothing, dragging his suitcase along behind him as he starts up the stairs. “Missed you, too, Ritsu.”


	3. Chapter 3

Rei arrives at Yumenosaki after a long night, and the only solace that he has is that it’s overcast and rainy.

 

The air crackles with unrest—far more than he remembers from his years previous at this school—and he huddles underneath his umbrella, damp and cold and generally unhappy. An entire spent with his mother for the first time in a year ended up with nothing but lectures about duty and responsibility, and that doesn’t exactly sit well with him when all he can think about is music and buying a new metronome on a good day.

 

Today, he thinks about music, new metronomes, and being fucking _hungry._

 

Feeding in England was easy. He’s always been told he is a picky eater, but he fed regularly overseas without any issue. Criminals were easy to pick out there, and hunting them even easier when he’s attractive and done up and a little bit tipsy.

 

In Japan, criminals are few and far between unless he wants to go hunting yakuza, and those are what his mother likes—plus, the idea of trying to seduce Japanese businessmen is…

 

There has to be another way.

 

There are a number of new faces that come through the gates of Yumenosaki, but familiar ones, too, and Rei latches onto one of them that keeps his head down with a familiar spark of pink hair. “Shu!” He bolts up, splashing through a puddle to get to his friend, and beams as he latches onto Itsuki Shu’s arm out of the blue. “Long time no see!”

 

Itsuki Shu lets out a startled shriek and faints immediately, hitting the ground with his body curled around an antique doll.

 

That’s less favorable, actually.

 

Rei pouts and crouches next to him, lending Shu his umbrella so that he doesn’t get too soaking wet until he comes to. “What’s gotten into you, huh?” he sighs, cocking his head, and after a moment’s waiting, he simply hauls Shu off the ground and into his arms. “To my club room, then. Ahh, I don’t remember you being this delicate…”

 

Shu comes slowly back to consciousness, blinking dazedly, finding himself dangling from someone’s strong arms. “Ryuu-kun...unhand me, I can walk, I--”

 

A smell reaches his nose, and he freezes in surprise before bursting into a laugh. “Rei! Rei, my old friend, it’s you!”

 

The doll in his arms sits up, tossing her hair over her shoulder, blinking shining blue eyes. “You’re the one Shu-kun talks about all the time? The Demon Prince? We need to talk about his welfare.”

 

“What the—“ Rei trips, nearly dropping Shu in the process before he’s able to hastily set him down on the Light Music club floor and take a step back. Some Demon Prince he is, shying away from a talking doll. “Shu, I didn’t know you could give them personalities!”

 

Shu straightens his clothes, then sets Mademoiselle down on the nearby piano, straightening her skirts. She giggles, curtsies, and does a little twirl. “I can’t,” Shu says, watching her fondly. “She helps me. When I’m...busy.”

 

Mademoiselle leans forward, whispering, “When he’s too anxious to speak to them himself, he means. Shu-kun has gotten much more nervous while you’ve been away. Are you back for good, Rei-chan?”

 

“Ahhh. I see.” Rei crouches down, reaching out to toy with a ringlet of Mademoiselle’s perfectly set hair. “There’s no need for you to be nervous around me, though,” he murmurs, glancing up to catch Shu’s gaze. “I am back for good, for better or for worse.” His lips twitch. “Did you miss me?”

 

Shu looks up, a smile tugging at his lips, and nods once. “England was good to you. You look almost absurdly handsome.”

 

“You’ve opened that can of worms this time, not me,” Rei hums, straightening to his feet and closing his umbrella to set it atop the familiar piano. “You’re lovely. You got taller. Slighter, though—you should eat more.” It almost makes him guilty about continuously catching the scent of Shu’s blood in the air—deliciously fragrant, bright and heady, and it’s _distracting_.

 

Shu makes a face. “You immediately start talking about something that makes me ill? You know I hate eating.”

 

“Shu-kun has been eating when _Mika-chan_ tells him to,” Mademoiselle confides, doing a little pirouette on the piano top.

 

“Mika-chan?” Rei’s eyebrows raise, and he leans over, catching Shu by a handful of ruffles as he leans in to sniff his clothes. “Valkyrie’s new recruit from last year, hmm? Ah, he smells odd…what is he, I wonder.”

 

“Half-breed,” Shu says, with none of the disdain that most of the Old Houses would have when using the phrase. “I haven’t decided what, but you’ve always had a better nose than I. He’s my new project.”

 

“Cute. Valkyrie is going to end up like my unit at this rate,” Rei teases, not releasing Shu’s clothes as he breathes in deep near his neck, and his fingers tighten. “If your Mika-chan has been goading you to eat in my absence, then maybe you’re well enough for me to have a snack.”

 

Shu reaches up, fiddling with his ruffles. “I’m...sort of...booked. Kagehira, that idiot, gets hungry sometimes. Take it up with him.”

 

Rei stares until his expression slowly slips sullen and bordering on pouty. “That’s not fair,” he complains, grabbing Shu’s hips as he nuzzles forwardly into his neck. “Shu, I’m _hungry_.”

 

It’s not easy to ignore the prickle of arousal that shoots through Shu at that little nuzzle, and he breathes, eyelashes fluttering. “Maybe...just a taste,” he manages. “Not standing, I always fall down.”

 

 _Yes, still got it!_ It’s with swift hands that Rei pushes Shu onto the piano bench, and long fingers immediately preoccupy themselves with brushing at a few strands of Shu’s hair and tugging down his collar. “I won’t let you fall down,” he breathes, licking a stripe up the thudding line of Shu’s carotid, shivering as he practically tastes the blood through his skin already. “I’m so hungry and you smell so good…it’s so hard to feed over here…”

 

“You’ve let me fall before,” Shu accuses, hands clutching at Rei’s arms, knees already close to buckling as Rei gets him onto the bench. He shudders, letting his head roll to the side. It’s been too damn long since he’s felt just _good_. “My dancing was always better when you were feeding from me.”

 

“Then let me be your patron now, too.”

 

 _Patron—_ that’s a cute word for it. It’s no secret that humans or weaker _others_ flock to this school for a chance at having something more powerful rub off on them, and they could only _hope_ Rei would take enough interest (or that they would smell good enough) for him to feed from them.

 

Shu is a special case.

 

Rei bites, deep and thorough, and the taste of Shu’s blood filling his mouth nearly makes _his_ knees buckle. Diluted fae Shu might be, the taste of it is still enough to make him suck in a sharp breath through his nose, bright and sweet and enough to make him dizzy as he gulps down mouthful after mouthful. After so long, it’s like gorging on his favorite candy, and when Rei finally does draw back, he’s flushed and dazed, and slowly slumps down to his knees, resting his head against Shu’s thigh. “Ahh…nnn, Shu…you _still_ taste better than anyone else…”

 

The tremors take Shu hard and sudden, rippling through his body like electricity through every capillary, his mouth falling open in a silent scream. Rei drinking from him has always been incredible, something that changes everything about him, makes him more vital, more vibrant, more capable of producing the kinds of shows that _only_ he can. His genius needs to be backed up by power, and Rei has always had an abundance of that, enough to share.

 

 _Kagehira has power, too_ , a voice in his mind reminds him. It’s true, Kagehira is brimming with the raw stuff, but without any knowledge, it’s as useful as a live stripped wire. This...this is power, harnessed, and shared.

 

A shiver runs up his spine, and the colors of the world saturate in front of his eyes. “Don’t...denigrate my family,” he finally manages. “I don’t need a patron, Rei. My ancestors _were_ Patrons.”

 

“Shh, shh.” Rei pats his knee inaccurately. “Let me…let me spoil you. Be my bento once in awhile, it’s good for both of us. Valkyrie and UNDEAD, we can be at the top of the school again, crush Tenshouin underfoot, be the masters of the day and the night…”

 

Once, Shu would have leapt at the chance. He’d had more energy then, more faith, then.

 

He’d had Nito, then.

 

Grief clutches at his heart, and he stands, shakily ignoring Mademoiselle when she tries to force him back into his seat. “When I feel more rested, I suppose. I’m...glad you’re home. But if you take my prey, I’ll be most displeased.”

 

Rei latches onto one of his legs, refusing to get up off of the floor just yet. “Tenshouin is _my_ prey,” he insists. “Oi. You’re not going anywhere. Tell me if you’ve seen him and Ritsu together.”

 

“They’re in a club together, Rei. Of course I’ve seen them together.”

 

“No, I mean, _inappropriately_.”

 

Shu opens his mouth, then closes it. “Out of respect for you and for our friendship, I’ll spare you my desired sarcasm in this situation. No, they don’t do anything inappropriate anywhere I’ve ever seen.”

 

Rei frowns, still suspicious, but he releases Shu’s leg and slowly slumps entirely down to the floor. “He’s seducing my sweet little brother and ruining my life,” he bemoans. “I came back to rescue Ritsu from a _true_ hell and instead, I find he’s caught up in this ridiculous web of Tenshouin’s lies and trickery…”

 

“True hell?” Shu arches an eyebrow. “I’ve been avoiding the Scene for the past several months. Perhaps I’ve missed something.”

 

The weary stare Rei fixes upon him should say it all. “I have to get _married._ ”

 

Shu’s lip curls in disgust. “To a _woman?_ Poor thing. She’ll never get her demon heirs.”

 

“I mean,” Rei sighs, “gender doesn’t really _matter_ in terms of fae and the like, not for most of them, but it’s the principle of the thing and knowing my luck, they probably like looking like a sparkly princess. My mother threatened to make Ritsu go through with it instead if I didn’t come back—god, I don’t even know the full details as to why, some faerie-thing disrupted some demon-thing and a marriage might fix it. As you can see, I’m a _very_ good and well-educated Demon Prince.”

 

Shu makes a face, deigning to hang around for a moment. “I’ll need to go soon,” he says with a huff, looking at the clock. “Not that it matters whether Kagehira cares if I’m late or not. When do you have to get married?”

 

“I don’t even know.” Rei hauls himself to his feet finally, brushing himself off. He certainly feels better than he has in the past few days, if not slightly flushed and overstimulated from such a _delicious_ drink, and he plops back down onto the piano bench in short order. “I’ve decided to just ignore it,” he cheerfully says, fluttering a dismissive hand. “I’d rather spend time thinking about what I like, which is music, and some of my cute children here at school. Ah, how is Kanata? And Wataru? I haven’t heard anything from them.” 

 

“Kanata is off in his own territory, of course. He hasn’t come out of the water much lately, I think the legs are starting to chafe him.” Shu straightens his collar, fluffing up his ruffles. “Wataru is a traitor. He’s off playing games with Tenshouin.”

 

Rei groans, leaning forward to bury his face into his hands. “Take it back. I don’t want to hear that.”

 

“Might as well be wearing a collar and leash,” Shu affirms sadly. “To a _human_ , of all things.”

 

“Point out to me the law that says I can’t kill Tenshouin again, because I’m really tempted.”

 

Shu snorts. “Ask your mother, it’s her Codex you’d be violating.”

 

Rei opens his mouth to say something about that, then huffs, and turns around towards the piano. “I can’t believe we’ve lost _Wataru_ to that snake,” he mutters. “Remind me why I came back to this school again.”

 

“Certainly not for me,” Shu says tiredly, reaching the door at last. “Or you would have been back long ago.” It’s never as good once the buzz is gone.

 

“…That’s not even fair.” Rei’s smile is wry as he leans back. “If I had come back to steal you away, you would’ve said ‘no’, anyway.”

 

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t want you to stay.” Shu hesitates for a moment, then just opens the door, letting himself out to go find Kagehira. Rei made him wait an awfully long time to meet again; he can handle just this much waiting.


	4. Chapter 4

“Tomooooya-kuuuun! Come out come out, the chase is fun but the catch is better~!”

 

Wataru prowls around the outside of a few school buildings, checking behind trees and up the branches, more as an excuse to frolic through the pseudo-forest than because he can’t find his cute little kohai. That part’s easy enough--Tomoya’s soul smells fragrant from this close, and Wataru can see it shimmering from behind a tree a dozen paces away. But he’d been telling the truth: the chase is fun.

 

He twirls, does a cartwheel for fun, and peeks behind the right tree at last, snagging Tomoya by the back of his collar. “ _Eureka!_ ” he exclaims in delight. “I’ve caught an apprentice!”

 

Tomoya’s shriek is telling, vocalizing all of his regret into one shrill sound. _Why did I ever come to this school?!_ he asks himself. _Wataru is a lie, a huge, terrible lie!_ “No, no, no, you—Hibiki-sempai, can you nooot,” he groans, reaching back to try and pry Wataru’s hand off. It’s impossible, when he’s this strong. “Please let me be free today, I can’t spend all night in the theater again…”

 

“Nonsense! The theater is a fine place to spend an entire _life_ , let alone a bare night!”

 

Wataru doesn’t strip Tomoya and redress him, not this time. He _does_ drag him behind a tree, hair whipping around in the wind, not letting go of Tomoya’s coat. “Ahahaa, Tomoya-kun, today is your lucky day!”

 

For good reason, Tomoya’s stare is skeptical. “Uh huh,” he wearily says, already sort of resigned to his fate of being Wataru’s dress-up doll, or whatever else he has in mind _this_ time. “What’s so lucky about it?”

 

Wataru’s eyes light up, and he snaps a finger, summoning a silent cluster of paper butterflies. Carefully, he breathes, and they shimmer into life, unfurling their wings and taking flight. “How would you like to have some real magic powers, Tomoya-kun? You could become powerful, be a Patron, play with the big kids instead of always being on the sidelines!”

 

Tomoya gulps, leaning back and away from the the butterflies as they take off no matter how his eyes remain fixated on them. “I…I mean…” he hedges, his mind spiraling off into a half-dozen ideas of what it would be like to have _any_ kind of magical talent. “I guess that would be pretty cool, but I’m just a human, I know I can’t really do that kinda stuff…”

 

“You could, you could!” _Not too desperate, Hibiki Wataru. Even a boy as dim as my cute little Tomoya-kun will see that there’s something wrong._ Wataru forces himself to be normal--or at least, normal for _him_. “Look, hold out your hand.” He grabs Tomoya’s hand, and forces a little of his own power into it. “Trace something in the air, summon something, you can do anything! You’re like a god!”

 

“I dunno, Hibiki-sempai, you’re being more hyper than usual…”

 

“Wa. Ta. _Ru._ ”

 

Tomoya bolts, the sound of Shinkai Kanata’s sweet, soft voice out of nowhere enough to make him spook back into the tree like a frightened horse. “Ow, what the—where did you _come_ from—“

 

“Wataru,” Kanata hums, reaching out a hand slowly to grab a handful of Wataru’s hair. “Preying on first years is bad. Mm, very bad.”

 

Wataru’s face goes pale, and he tries to dash away, only to found his hair firmly snatched. “Ah, ha ha, ow! Kanata, it’s not what you think, I’m not preying on him, I adore my cute little Tomoya-kun!” It would be easy to get away--Kanata is no match for him magically, but to do that he’d have to use the very powers that are betraying him with their presence, the ones he’d been trying to ditch until the whole situation blows over. If he uses them now, that’ll be a beacon for his location, and the sniffers will have him in seconds. “It was just a prank!”

 

“Wataru,” Kanata begins again, hooking his chin over Wataru’s shoulder from behind. “If you were being bad…and trying to push off some of your magic onto unsuspecting humans…”

 

“Too weird, I’m outta here,” Tomoya mutters, turning away and starting to walk off.

 

“I have to karate chop you. Mm. Then to the fountain we go, bubble, bubble.”

 

“Nooooo, not the fountain! I don’t want a drowning, Kanata, please, my old friend!!”

 

Kanata chops him right in the back, and then throws Wataru over his shoulder as if he weighs next to nothing. “To the fountain. You’ve been bad.”

 

The famous chop dazes Wataru enough to let Kanata subdue him, and he huffs, hanging limply. “You don’t understand,” he protests weakly, thrashing dramatically. “They’re going to make me get _married_ , it’s in my nature to try and escape!”

 

Kanata’s stride is brisk and his feet sure, despite rather hating them, and it’s only a short time before Wataru finds himself dumped directly into the school’s fountain. “Wataru…probably deserves it,” Kanata slowly says before climbing into the water as well, submerging himself with great care. “You’re bad. In my kind…getting married…that means something bad has happened…”

 

Wataru bubbles unhappily, his body’s natural capabilities letting him survive underwater, but not happily. He finally manages to suck in the occasional breath from the surface, hair spreading out all around him in the fountain. He waves, motioning at the bubbles, then starts tracing fanciful pictures in the water as a means of communicating, though he has no idea whether they’ll make sense to a ningyou or not.

 

Tiring of this quickly, Kanata releases Wataru and lets him come up for air. Drowning is only fun if he gets to eat, and Wataru doesn’t particularly have the scent of a creature he wants to sink his teeth into. “No. Use words.”

 

Wataru coughs up water, mostly for effect, and to make Kanata feel better about the failed drowning. “Pleh. Ah, my thanks. Mm, yes, I definitely did something.” He beams. “And now I’m trying to run away from the consequences. Won’t you spirit me away to your kingdom perhaps?”

 

“It’s full of drowned bodies.” Kanata blinks back at him placidly, an absolute lie when he’s in the water, even if it’s a little fountain. “Do you want to be the drowned body king?”

 

“Would I have to marry a drowned body?” Wataru asks skeptically. “Do they laugh at jokes or applaud at magic tricks?”

 

Kanata’s stare is accompanied by water slowly dripping off of his hair. “N…o. They’re dead.”

 

Wataru sighs. “Very well. I’ll keep finding alternatives, then. Do you really mind _that_ much if I make Tomoya-kun into something very exciting for just a few days, just long enough to throw off the sniffers while I get away? Or Eichi, he’ll take it willingly!”

 

Kanata heaves a long sigh, and slowly sinks down into the water until it hits his chin. “Wataru will get into even more trouble. Mm. Much more.” His head tips to the side. “The President…is very…off-limits.” _And scary._ “You have to be good. Maybe…if you’re good…you won’t have to marry anyone…”

 

Wataru’s shoulders slump, and he grimaces. “It’s...very much a done deal, I hear. I was... _extremely_ naughty, if you can believe that of me.”

 

“Yes. Wataru is usually bad.” Kanata leans forward, staring up at him. “Who do you have to marry?” He doesn’t really care what Wataru did. He probably killed someone. Faeries do that.

 

“Not sure,” Wataru says gloomily. “Our Queen says it’s got to be someone high-ranking in the Underworld, that horrid place that smells like mold and rot and shadows all the time. With my luck, it’ll be an immortal too, and I’ll be stuck with them through a blood bond for the next millennium.”

 

Slowly, Kanata extends a soaking wet hand to pet Wataru’s soaking wet hair. “There, there. Bubble, bubble. Maybe…it will be…someone like Kaoru. A good boy. Ah, but he’s not high-ranking…he’s barely anything…but still…a good boy.”

 

“Everyone good at Yumenosaki is either low-ranking or a fake,” Wataru says in misery. “Or of my own appalling kingdom, and therefore no use as a bargaining chip, I’m certain, so it’ll be someone much older, eugh. Ah, I wish it were you, my friend. Hmm, perhaps if you and I eloped, that might stop them. Your kingdom is nearly powerful enough for an alliance, don’t you think?”

 

“You won’t let me eat you, and I don’t want to. It’ll never work out.” Kanata flops back into the water again, wallowing down as if it’s one enormous blanket. “Wataru is going to be promised to an old demon. I wonder what they’ll taste like…”

 

Wataru, in all of his gloom, almost asks Kanata to drown him--but no, Kanata would cheerfully do so, though that cheer would fade at the fact that fae taste terrible to ningyou. He sighs, floating on his back for a while, staring at the sky.

 

The Demon Kingdom doesn’t have a sky. It has a rolling, eternal storm, locked away from food and light and music and everything that makes eternity bearable. Wataru shudders at the idea of that prison as his home for half of every year, and the water around him frosts over with ice.

 

That won’t do.

 

He leaps up, splashing out of the fountain, and leaves it behind. “I’m off to lie on the floor somewhere, dear Kanata. I wouldn’t want to impose on your territory.”

 

“Ah! Wataru…” Kanata slowly drapes himself over the edge of the fountain, reaching after him with one dripping hand. “You’ve been busy, and never come to class, so you didn’t know. Rei came back.” He slides back into the fountain with a wet, squishy splash. “You should ask him…maybe he knows about things…bubble…”

 

Wataru frowns. “Rei is back? Ah, he might know something, I suppose. Though if I remember correctly, his family isn’t in favor--minor nobles, isn’t that what he said?”

 

“Mm, but he’s still pureblood.” Kanata blinks off a few droplets from his eyelashes. “So maybe he knows things. Or can ask others. More useful than his little brother…he just wants to eat everything…rude…”

 

Wataru shakes himself, water flying everywhere, leaving him as dry as if he’d been basking in the sun for hours. “I’m off, darling. Try to behave yourself--you don’t want a marriage conviction. Trust me.”

 

“I’m always good,” Kanata sweetly replies, and slinks down into the water, content to try drowning himself if it means maybe learning how to breathe under water again.

 

~

 

The Tea Club room is kind of small, but Ritsu doesn’t bother avoiding it, not when it’s one of the nicest, quietest places he has to sleep. Sometimes it’s nicer to sleep in the garden, but more often than not, Ritsu just flops down on a few spare cushions in the tea club room. And hey, it also counts as club attendance.

 

The smell of medicine wakes him from a long sleep, and Ritsu stretches, yawning hugely when Eichi walks in and settles down. He subsides, leaving his eyes slit just a sliver, not wanting to make a big deal out of being here if Eichi doesn’t notice him. Then again, he also extends one leg, so he’ll be visible if Eichi feels like noticing.

 

“Aha. So Ritsu-kun has decided to attend today.”

 

Eichi scoots over on his own cushion, teacup in hand, and he pokes at the bottom of Ritsu’s foot. “The sleepiest attendee, as per usual. Has the littlest vampire been eating well lately? Anemia won’t be tolerated in my clubroom.”

 

Ritsu snatches his foot back, then rolls over, laying his cheek against Eichi’s thigh, looking up through heavy-lidded eyes. “Not anemic, who ever heard of an anemic vampire? Uwaahhh~...Ecchan, if you’re worried you can gimme a drink...”

 

“And hear you complain again like you did last time?” Eichi huffs, even as he obligingly pets Ritsu’s hair, running his fingers methodically against his scalp. “I’m not interested in being insulted all the time, you know.”

 

“Ehh...the Emperor is surprisingly delicate about his ego,” Ritsu teases, hands coming up to pet at Eichi’s thighs. Eichi’s thighs are always surprisingly toned for such a sick boy, which is something that kind of appeals to Ritsu. Rei’s are more toned, of course, but Rei’s also an asshole, so whatever. “Hmmm, I’m not that good at worshipping, we should get Haa~kun in here to do it.”

 

“Hajime-kun is a pure child, I’d never ask him to do that,” Eichi laughs, and he gives Ritsu’s hair a light little tug. “My ego isn’t _delicate_. I just don’t like being told ‘you taste bad and smell like medicine’ when that really isn’t fair at all. Shouldn’t you be sweet to me and call me ‘Onii-chan’ because I’m nice enough to let you feed at all?”

 

Ritsu’s Cheshire smile spreads across his face, and he nuzzles into Eichi’s thigh. “My brother’s home,” he all but purrs, rubbing against Eichi’s hand in his hair. “He hates you, you know. He’d be so~oo mad if I called you Onii-chan.”

 

“Then you should do it.” Eichi doesn’t _hate_ Sakuma Rei—the opposite, in fact! He loves him, every single bit of him that means it’s easy to ruffle his feathers and watch him squirm. Saying that out loud is considered ‘cruel’ and ‘unnecessary’, but he doesn’t think about Keito’s opinions _that_ often. His lips twitch into a smile, and he takes a sip from his teacup as he rubs Ritsu’s hair the wrong way. “I’m surprised, though, that he came back at all. Did he get sick of being overseas?”

 

“Dunno. Don’t care. Hey, why can’t I have tea?” Ritsu complains, grabbing for Eichi’s cup. “This is tea club, someone should be serving me tea...Haa~kun should be here to take care of me.”

 

Eichi tsks, grabbing Ritsu’s hand to still it. “If you asked politely, maybe I would serve you. Honestly, do they not teach little vampires any manners?”

 

“Nn, they teach us to take what we want,” Ritsu says cheerfully, subsiding under Eichi’s hand, going immediately limp and placid. “Maybe Ecchan should teach me politeness. Onii-chan has enough class for a whole coven of little vampires, hmm?”

 

“Oh, I do. Absolutely.” Eichi takes another sip of his tea, and promptly grabs Ritsu’s chin, lifting him up as he leans down and presses their lips together. It’s always messier, in theory, to share a mouthful of drink, but worth it for having an idle chance to curiously prod at Ritsu’s fangs in the process.

 

Ritsu’s lips part eagerly, and he tilts his head up, placidly receiving the sloppy mouthful of tea in just about the least efficient method he can think of, and he obligingly slides out his fangs for Eichi to prod. It’s what he always wants, after all. Ritsu’s a lot better at them than his dumb brother, who can never remember how to slide them in and out.

 

He gulps, and pulls back, smiling beatifically. “Yum, that’s good stuff. I could drink more.”

 

Eichi draws back as well, licking up a trickle of tea that escapes down his own chin, and he reaches for Ritsu’s face again, holding him still while his thumb idly slips past his lips to drag against one extremely sharp fang. “These just seem like they would be so _useful_ ,” he sighs. “I mean, I don’t know for what, but maybe I’d like the taste of blood. Ow,” he adds on an afterthought as the tip of said fang pricks into his finger, drawing a droplet of blood immediately to the surface.

 

Ritsu’s tongue immediately darts out, licking up the droplet of blood with an eager swipe before he relaxes back, sighing out a breath as colors burst in his vision. Blood is more than a food, to vampires--it’s the _only_ thing that sustains them, accounting for food, drink, and air all in one, and some spiritual fodder, too.

 

He sits back, savoring and digesting, then looks up, pleased. “Less like medicine today, Ecchan. You feeling good? I can make you feel better.”

 

“Being able to perform here always makes me feel better.” Eichi’s eyes lid, and he drags his thumb over Ritsu’s lower lip. “Being around creatures like you makes me feel better. What are you going to do that makes me feel even better, hmm?”

 

“You want me to be your Patron?” Ritsu teases, fingers kneading into Eichi’s thighs, thumbs stroking over the firm flesh there, feeling it tense with each motion of his hands. “I was gonna just suck you off, but maybe Ecchan is after something more...maybe he wants to be my special project...”

 

“And how much would your brother hate that, I wonder.” Eichi’s lips slowly curve, and he rests a hand atop one of Ritsu’s, squeezing. “Don’t offer something that you aren’t going to follow through with. Wouldn’t it be unsightly for a member of Knights to be offering _benefits_ to a human of another unit? If you don’t care, that’s one thing, but…”

 

Ritsu laughs, a low, somewhat sinister sound, and he runs the tip of his tongue over his lips. “Ecchan, I’d be totally serious...if you wanted to enter a _real_ partnership. But, you know, that comes with some serious obligations and boring stuff on your part...”

 

“Try me.” Eichi’s eyebrows raise, and he leans over to pick up his teacup again. “What does a demon of _your_ heritage want in exchange? I’ve always wondered.”

 

Dark brows raise. Eichi isn’t supposed to know anything about Ritsu’s actual heritage, and he sure as the hell in his bedroom hasn’t said anything. _Someone else obviously has, or Eichi’s been doing his own research..._

 

“Favors,” he says at last, humming a little. “You’d have to be my retainer at some pretty big events...you’re pretty, I’d show you off. Mmh, and you’d have to agree not to take any pills or medicine or anything, you’d be my favorite food and I’d get to eat as much as I want.”

 

That sounds dangerous, alluring, and like something his family would never condone. Neither would Keito, of course, but that’s terribly secondary. “You realize I’m dying,” he says, amused, taking a sip of tea. “You’d lose your favorite food fairly quickly if I didn’t keep taking all of the things my doctors prescribe me. And what if I wanted to be the one showing you off? I’m not good at being secondary.”

 

Ritsu’s head tilts, then flops, thunking onto Eichi’s thighs. “Too much work. You’d have to follow all my rules and stuff, and keeping you in line sounds way too hard.”

 

“Oh, it would be,” Eichi cheerfully says, resuming his petting of Ritsu’s hair. “And it would be an exercise in futility. I don’t like being told what to do, least of all by cute little vampires. Well…unless there’s something _really_ in it for me. I can get anyone at this school to be my Patron, you know. You’re just the cutest.”

 

 _I’m the most powerful,_ Ritsu wants to say, sulky, but he’s not allowed to brag about his family or his natural power, not until his dumb mom is willing to reveal herself to the near public. “Whatever,” he mutters, letting his eyes slide shut under the ministrations. “Ecchan will do what he wants.”

 

“You sound so pouty, Ritsu-kun.” Eichi’s fingers tiptoe down the back of Ritsu’s neck. “I’m not turning you down, you know.”

 

“I’m turning _you_ down. You’re not a good candidate. Haa~kun would be better. He’s pretty and does what he’s told, and I could help him a lot.” Ritsu thinks about that for a second, frowning. “He tastes like poverty, though. Bleh.”

 

“Hajime-kun is very cute,” Eichi diplomatically says, running a nail down Ritsu’s spine. “Turn me down all you want, then. I’ll still be nice and let you have a drink if you like. It must be difficult for you to be out and about during the day, hmm?”

 

“....yeah.” Ritsu nuzzles at Eichi’s thigh, shifting to get up higher, calculating how much he can get away with. “I’ll be good and take it from wherever you want.”

 

“How about I’ll let you take it from wherever _you_ want…on one condition.”

 

Ritsu smiles. Eichi is the only one who makes him work for it, which he can’t get enough of. “What’s the condition?”

 

“Tell me why your brother came back.” Eichi gives Ritsu’s hair an absent tug. “I know it’s not just because he missed our old competitions.”

 

 _“He’s only pretending to like you,”_ Rei’s voice says in Ritsu’s memory. _“He just wants information from you about our family.”_

 

“Dunno,” Ritsu says, grumpy now and pulling away. “He didn’t tell me. Spends all his time with his dumb friends.”

 

“I’m _asking_ ,” Eichi quietly continues, tugging Ritsu back, “because there seemed to be some kind of a…threat left at our school gates. The timing coincided with your brother’s arrival back in Japan. I would _like_ for everyone to stay safe within these walls, Ritsu-kun. If you don’t believe me,” he adds, holding out his wrist, “have a drink first, then tell me if you feel like it.”

 

Ritsu looks up at him, skeptical and more than a little hungry. “A threat? From my people? What’d it look like? No one tells me anything.”

 

Eichi tugs his phone out of his pocket, flipping to the photo Keito had forwarded his way. “Like this,” he says, holding the phone out to him. “Does that mean anything to you?”

 

Ritsu stares at the screen. Slowly, he reaches out to touch the phone, then starts giggling, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth, before forcing his smile away with little success. “Oh. Yeah. Big threat. Very scary, we should all, heh, be _really_ scared.”

 

“Ooooii.” Eichi grabs Ritsu by the back of his blazer, giving him a light shake. “This isn’t a game of ‘mock the human.’ If your kind refuse to talk to us, then of course we’re going to be worried!”

 

Ritsu sticks his tongue out, and lets his hands trace up the front of Eichi’s pants, splaying out on his abs. “It’s an invitation,” he explains, knowing that Rei would be mad at him for talking, and talking because of it. “To a wedding. Ahh, it’s gonna be sooner than I thought--but you’re the President, it’s probably meant for you.”

 

“To a _wedding_.” If Eichi sounds skeptical, it’s for good reason. He frowns down at Ritsu, but doesn’t flinch from his touch. “To _whose_ wedding? And why am I invited—I was of the impression that demonkind didn’t particularly…savor my family’s presence.”

 

Ritsu shrugs. “You’re the President. They can’t _not_ invite you--they’ve invoked Yumenosaki as neutral ground. It’s the only place two of us can have a wedding outside the clans. That’s the crest of the highest-ranked Demon family, so...expect one from another clan soon. I dunno who, probably someone from Faerie. They like hummingbirds and shit.”

 

“Oooh.” This sounds _delightfully_ fun, and like something he’s going to love telling Keito all about later. “And how does a lowly little vampire like you know about whose crest is whose, hmm?” Eichi gloms onto, idly loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt, just to make his neck a little bit easier to get to. “My family has helped _manage_ demonkind for ages, and even we aren’t privy to that kind of knowledge because it’s so rare.”

 

Ritsu rolls his eyes hard, but he starts crawling up, perching on Eichi’s lap, licking his lips as he stares at the little bit of skin being revealed. “Mom’s super traditional,” he murmurs, a little distracted. “She made us memorize them all. That’s how you suck up, you know?”

 

“I suppose.” Eichi tucks his hair behind his ears, cocking his head just enough that his neck is bared. “If that’s so, then who does that crest belong to?”

 

“Drink first,” Ritsu demands, focused on the sound, the smell of Eichi’s blood thundering through his veins, luring him through that tasty, translucent barrier. “Ecchan, please...”

 

“Ah, ah, ah…you have to be good for me first, Ritsu-kun,” Eichi murmurs, his eyes lidded as he leans in close. “The Demon World is so secretive. Spare me a bit of information, and I’ll invite you to have a nice long drink.”

 

Ritsu’s eyes glow dull red. He _could_ just take what he wants. He’s got the power, and probably wouldn’t even get in trouble, not when everyone knows how terrible Eichi can be, how intrusive and how manipulative. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell who’s on whose team, and Eichi has some powerful friends...

 

“Already told you it was a wedding invitation,” he whines, stomach growling. “That’s more than you had before.”

 

“A name, Ritsu-kun. That’s aaall I’m asking for. Am I not allowed to know whose wedding I’m going to?”

 

Ritsu wavers. He shouldn’t, he _shouldn’t_...but Rei is so _stupid_ and _mean_ , and Eichi is so good to him...and he doesn’t have to give their _last_ name, just... “Run by a Queen,” he says at last, giving up one of his mother’s many aliases from over the years. “Known as the Snow Woman. Real pale skin, likes to eat yakuza.”

 

Eichi immediately sticks that in the back of his mind for later, and just as quickly, he rewards, sinking his fingers into Ritsu’s hair and pulling his mouth to his throat. “That’s a good boy,” he lowly praises. “Go on, then, drink to your heart’s content.”

 

Ritsu bites hard, too hard, as a punishment for holding out. His teeth sink into the carotid artery, feeling it pulsing hot and strong today. Eichi really is getting better, apparently, he thinks in mild relief, letting the blood spill hot and sticky over his tongue, drinking four greedy sips before he pulls away, letting his saliva seal the holes. “Mmmm, way better than usual, Ecchan. Ahhh, really good...really, really good...”

 

Rei is fine, but drinking from a pure _human_ feels like nothing else.

 

To anyone else, Ritsu probably bites too hard, but to Eichi, it feels _just_ right. He arches with a wet, hot gasp, his toes curling and his fingers twisting tightly up into Ritsu’s hair, even when he pulls back. “Would you believe…I was hoping you’d say that?” he breathes with a hitching little laugh. He’s lightheaded now, dizzy from even that much blood loss, and it’s troubling how the room spins even when he’s sitting. “You should be enjoying your meals more, Ritsu-kun…”

 

Ritsu sits back, looking back over his shoulder, then both ways, making sure that no one is looking. Eichi looks pale, if happy, and Ritsu doesn’t want to hear that he’d gone to the hospital again for being generous. That’s no fun. “You’d be a bad pet,” he muses, “but if you don’t tell anyone, I can give you a little boost. It’ll make you stronger for a day or two until you can replace your blood, probably also see magic and stuff in the air.”

 

“…Ritsu-kun, have you been holding out on me?” Eichi giggles, his eyes lidded as he grabs for the front of Ritsu’s shirt, more in an effort not to topple over than to actually _do_ anything. “I’m not going to be a pet,” he breathes. “I’ll accept your generosity, though, as a thanks for the meal.”

 

Ritsu nods, and extends his fangs. “Open your mouth,” he breathes, and lets the venom drip, infusing it with a bit of his life essence before it hits Eichi’s lips. He could also let Eichi drink from _him_ , but so many humans are bad at drinking blood, this is probably easier.

 

Eichi parts his lips, and…hmm, _that’s_ a different taste indeed.

 

It’s _tart_ , almost to the point that he flinches back, and letting his tongue swipe up the drops of venom takes some effort. He coughs reflexively, which makes his chest want to seize up—for a moment, until it seems to reconsider, and his lungs decide to settle rather than being the weaklings they usually insist upon being. “That’s…helpful,” he manages, his eyes swiveling automatically to look Ritsu up and down, and it’s disappointing to see that there’s a startling lack of _nothing_ to him, when it comes to magic floating about. Or…perhaps that’s less disappointing and more _telling._ His sources aren’t entirely wrong about important baby demons needing to stay hidden, they can’t be. “Pretty gross, though.”

 

Ritsu winks, and sits back on Eichi’s thighs. “More where that comes from. Any time you really wanna be a pretty pet, I’ll be your Patron, you taste real good lately.”

 

He reaches up, touching Eichi’s hair. “I’ll keep you alive without medicine, you know.”

 

“I’d make a terrible pet,” Eichi hums, grabbing Ritsu’s hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. “On the other hand, I feel like you’d make a lovely one…”

 

“Don’t be dumb, demons can’t be pets. Even young ones.” Especially ones of _his_ status, but no one needs to know about that. “But I’d definitely be the prettiest. How’s your breathing now, Ecchan?”

 

“Oh, anyone can be a pet, if they actually want that.” Eichi draws in a slow, even breath, and beams. “Much better, thank you. Hehh, you have been holding out on me, Ritsu-kun. Who knew just a drop of your magic could do so much?”

 

Ritsu scratches the back of his head, and looks around again. “I’m really not supposed to,” he mumbles. “I’ll be in serious trouble if anyone finds out, especially my brother. But Ecchan won’t tell, right?”

 

“I won’t say a word.” He won’t—not about this, at least. Eichi leans forward, knocking his forehead gently against Ritsu’s. “You _can_ tell me things, Ritsu-kun. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone you call ‘Onii-chan’ who actually gives a damn?”

 

A pang of hurt tugs at Ritsu’s chest, and he closes his eyes briefly, letting their foreheads rest together. “Yeah,” he says softly, feeling himself cradled in Eichi’s arms. “That would be...real nice.”

 

But he’s not stupid, and people have cared about The Demon Prince more than they have about Sakuma Ritsu his whole life, and he exhales, feeling the loneliness sink in again. “Maybe if you ever take me as a Patron and swear loyalty.”

 

“Nope,” Eichi laughs, reaching down to pinch one of Ritsu’s thighs. “Why would I do that if I keep getting freebies and you still spend time with me? Nn, Ritsu-kun, don’t look so sad, you just had a delicious lunch.”

 

Ritsu slides off of Eichi’s lap, curling back up on his futon. “Just hearing ‘Onii-chan’ puts me in a bad mood, I guess. Ehhh, where’s that cute transfer student, I wanna take another drink...”

 

“Ehh, no way, my blood should’ve been more than filling enough!” Eichi crawls after him, inelegantly for once, and stretches out behind him with a long sigh. “You’re so insatiable.”

 

The tiniest smile curls Ritsu’s face, and he cuddles back up against Eichi’s front. “I bet you could find a way to satisfy me, eventually. Ehh, we’re gonna scandalize Haa~kun...”

 

“Good.” Eichi stifles a yawn into Ritsu’s hair, and slings an arm over his waist. Ritsu is, if nothing else, an _excellent_ napping buddy. “Everyone has to grow up sometime.”


	5. Chapter 5

The scent of a Watcher is an unmistakable one, and so Rei plays piano louder just to spite him.

 

There are Seven Mysteries of Yumenosaki, and one of them is that the piano in the Light Music Club room plays even without someone being there. It’s silly for a school full of so many supernatural creatures to have these kinds of rumors, especially when that mystery is easily solved by Rei’s presence entirely (a little black magic that he’s not technically allowed to use at school _will_ make a piano play all day). Today, though, he makes himself very present at the keys, ignoring his veritable parole officer Hasumi Keito when he enters the club room without as much as knocking. Schubert, today, because nothing says ‘brilliant but entirely ignored’ like a good Schubert, and _ignored_ he could be a bit more, by certain persons.

 

Keito closes the door behind himself, sketching a rune on the door to keep it shut and _sealed_ , then turns to face his old friend with a sigh, folding his arms across his chest. “We need to talk, Rei.”

 

“No ‘welcome back’? No ‘I’ve missed you, it’s so glad to see you again’?” Rei sniffs,not stopping his ceaseless playing. “Why are you sealing us in, you’re wasting your time if I want to leave.”

 

“I’m not sealing us _in_ , I’m sealing--oh, shit.” Keito scowls at the rune, wipes it out, and replaces it with the proper one, facing out rather than in. “Pretend you didn’t see that. And I’d be a lot happier to see you if you hadn’t come back among all these stupid auspices.”

 

“Auspices?” Rei tilts his head back, watching Keito with a great deal of amusement. “Ahhh. You mean the little note my mother left? My puppy mentioned you were throwing a fit about that.”

 

“The terms of your attendance at Yumenosaki Academy are _very_ clear, Rei.” Keito strides forward, laying a firm hand on the piano. “You aren’t supposed to make overt signs of your presence anywhere that normal humans can see them. Not to mention, it’s written all over you that you’ve been drinking again.”

 

“ _I_ didn’t leave that note, don’t scold _me_ ,” Rei complains, finishing the movement with an irritated flourish and then sitting back, scowling. “I don’t have any say when it comes to what my mother does. And what do you care that I’ve been drinking again, hmm?” His eyes lid. “Jealous that it wasn’t from you?”

 

Keito sighs, and pulls out a scroll with carvings on the dowel, unrolling it and starting to read. “As pertaining to the conditional acceptance of one Sakuma Rei, Heir and Scion of the Honshu Branch of the Demon Queen Airi, the terms are as follows. First, that his--”

 

“I’m hungry,” Rei cheerfully interrupts, climbing up from the piano bench to grab Keito by the tie and drag him over. “You should let me have a taste, Kei~to~kun.”

 

“You are _literally_ the worst,” Keito says with a groan, wobbling when Rei’s tug throws him off-balance. “You’re not allowed to drink from the underage, _especially_ not your gods-damned _Watcher_ , Rei!”

 

“You’d be old enough if you were in England,” Rei complains, sweeping an arm around Keito’s waist to jerk him close, already nosing at his neck. “You can’t let me starve,” he whines. “Do you know how hard it is to get a good meal over here? If I starve to death, everyone in the Underworld will be asking _you_ why you didn’t _manage_ _me better…_ ”

 

Keito turns, flicking Rei firmly on the nose like a naughty cat. “You think I can’t tell that you’ve been drinking from someone else? Within the last day, I might add?” he demands. “I can’t risk being spiritually contaminated, my family guardians will attack me on sight. Disclose your last meal, Starving-Demon-san.”

 

Rei snaps at Keito’s finger, undeterred. “It’s no one that will _contaminate you_ , you little priss,” he grouses. “Itsuki Shu. And it was just a little _sip_ —“

 

“Oh, so I’ll only be contaminated with pretentiousness,” Keito says smugly. “Even after drinking from some pathetic diluted bloodline like him, you’re still hungry for me?”

 

Rei’s arm tightens around him, and his fangs score against the side of Keito’s neck,not drawing blood yet, but certainly coming close. “Be _nice_ ,” he lowly warns, his breath hot when it escapes against Keito’s skin. “I’m hungry, and I like him.”

 

“You’re not asking nicely,” Keito says sharply. “And I haven’t consented to having your teeth on my neck, Rei. You don’t want me to file a citation on you for nonconsensual blood drinking when you haven’t even bothered being cute to me.”

 

A huff follows that, and Rei pushes away, flopping back down onto the piano bench. “Keito-kuuun, how about being nice to _me?_ ” he sniffs. “My life is about to be over and you should understand that better than anyone else.”

 

Keito raises an eyebrow. “If there’s an imminent threat to your life, that’s _also_ something you need to report to your Watcher, namely me. Or my brother, but you never got along well with him, so...”

 

He moves closer despite his better judgment, looking down at Rei. “One would think you weren’t _grateful_ for my protection.”

 

Keito, for all of his love of rules, is actually a piece of shit. Rei _does_ appreciate that, especially when he only has to poke and prod at Keito a _little_ to bring out this much more fun side of him—because as they both know, not only is _drinking_ from one’s Watcher strictly not allowed, but anything else verging towards a ‘relationship’ (sexual, or otherwise) is also very much against the rules.

 

Batting his eyelashes, Rei reaches up to grab Keito’s tie again, toying with the end of it. “Of course I’m grateful. If not for you, I’d have to put up with your _terribly_ frumpy brother. Instead, I get you—tall and sexy and delightfully pushy. Keito-kun should follow me around and take care of me more now that I’m home.”

 

Keito checks to make sure that his rune is still intact, then furtively pulls up one of his sleeves, all the way to the shoulder, baring the brachial artery. “A _small_ one,” he warns, feeling the guilt nip at his conscience as he does. “On the condition that you won’t try to drink from anyone else.”

 

Rei almost agrees, but that last part… “I can’t survive on you alone,” he protests, even as he grabs for Keito’s arm. “It’s so hard to hunt here—in England, it was different. Over here, if I’m following the rules, hunting criminals means eating gross old businessmen, and…Keito-kun, I can’t, you know I can’t.” Being accused of being picky is one thing, and he’ll hear it from his mother and brother, but Keito knows better. “Even if I was willing, that’s my mother’s territory. Drinking from friends who invite me is all I can do right now.”

 

Keito hesitates, holding his arm away from Rei’s mouth, muscles as firm as they ever get. “No one from the Underworld,” he warns, fully aware that his own standards for Rei’s behavior are comically, embarrassingly low. “No one more powerful than Itsuki Shu. I really _do_ want to be able to go home without being attacked by the golems.”

 

Rei nods firmly, and he reaches for Keito’s arm again. “I won’t let that happen,” he promises. “If for some reason I ever _do_ mess up, you know you’re always welcome in my coffin—“

 

“I’ll be kicked out of the Watchers, and you’ll be assigned to my uncle Kenichi,” Keito says dryly. “You will not enjoy his attentions. Make sure you’re _very_ careful.”

 

“Ugh. Fine.” Rei nuzzles at Keito’s wrist, then quickly slides his mouth upward, nipping gently at the fragrant line of Keito’s brachial artery. “No one’s as nice to me as Keito-kun is,” he breathes before he bites, determined to have a taste before Keito changes his mind and decides this is _too_ out of line to be acceptable.

 

The initial spark of pain makes Keito grimace, but he grits his teeth for that moment, then relaxes when the venom works through his veins, numbing him and sending trills of pleasure all through his body. Rei knows what he’s doing, and the tiny thrill of the forbidden that goes through Keito is something he’s only mildly ashamed of. “Not too much,” he warns, biting his bottom lip, legs trembling. “You’re...so greedy these days, Rei.” Not that he minds, not really, but if he goes home smelling like he’s had too much fun, someone could easily notice.

 

Rei snags an arm around Keito’s waist again lest his knees crumple out from underneath him, and he takes several long, savoring gulps before he draws back. “Nn? I’m a growing boy,” he pants out, licking at his reddened lips. “’s different than being greedy. And you always taste so good…” Licking at that bite mark isn’t the same as trying to drink again, not _really_.

 

Keito’s composure wavers, and he reaches out, brushing his fingers over Rei’s jaw, sighing fondly. “You’re not a bad person, Rei. I...you know I actually like you quite a bit. Just don’t make me regret my favoritism, please.”

 

“Why would I make you regret it? I told you I was going to behave…” Rei complains, butting his head against Keito’s hand like a cat seeking more attention. “I don’t have much of a choice now.” His expression twists unhappily. “Did you get the memo about what my mother’s, ah, notation, was actually about?”

 

Keito gives into Rei’s urging, moving his head to pet and scritch gently at his long, silky hair. “Father said he was investigating the clan sigil and the meaning. If you want to tell me first, I’ll be able to give you a little leeway on your check-ins for the next week.”

 

“Aww, a real reward for good behavior,” Rei teases, his head tipped to the side as he remains in place for his petting. “You’ll be happy to hear it’s nothing that will ruin the lives of humans. In fact, it’s to make sure your world doesn’t collapse as you all know it. It’s a wedding invitation.”

 

Keito’s eyebrows shoot above his glasses lenses, hand freezing. “You’re getting _married?_ ”

 

“God, don’t stop petting me, it’s the only thing good left in my life,” Rei whines, shoving his head against Keito’s touch again. “Yes, I’m getting _married_ , isn’t it terrible? My mother’s been trying to wheedle me into this for a solid year, why do you think I took off to England in the first place?”

 

Keito sighs, and takes out a notebook, flipping to a blank page before resuming his petting. “You know I’m going to need to know things. The date of the wedding, who you’re marrying, what clan she’s from, and who she’s got in the area that might shift current power balances.”

 

“…I don’t know any of those things. All I know is that it’s someone fae.” Rei shifts unhappily, and promptly latches onto Keito’s waist with both arms. “I think my mother is holding out on telling me because she’s still afraid I’ll run. But she already threatened to make Ritsu do it instead, so she should know better!”

 

“Why are you holding me? Don’t do that, I’m not your mother, only your Watcher.” Keito still pets him, even as his mind races, thinking of all the horrible things this could lead to if it’s someone they don’t know of yet. “You know what country she’s from? If there’s a large influx of fae from outside Japan, I’m going to have to call a hell of a meeting.”

 

“No. I’m holding you because you’re the only normal constant in my life, fucking deal with it.” Rei’s voice is muffled as he stuffs his face into Keito’s chest. “I told you, I don’t know anything. Keito, I can’t marry a _girl_ , this is going to be the worst. The only thing girls are good for is drinking from.”

 

Keito narrows his eyes slightly, letting his nails rasp against Rei’s scalp yet again, not trying to dislodge him just yet. “ _Can_ you even be with a woman? Why not just tell your mother that your soldier won’t salute? Ah....because then she’d make Ritsu do it, and you’re not sure if the woman is horrible, right?”

 

“I have hundreds of years to knock her up, my mother doesn’t care,” Rei miserably says. “The marriage is just to calm everyone down, _apparently._ And…I won’t say anything because she’d make Ritsu do it instead, yes. I _can’t_ put him through this. He doesn’t want to be the eventual Demon King, he wants to go off and sleep and be told that he’s pretty. I can’t even blame him, that sounds nice.”

 

Keito grabs Rei’s face and pulls him slightly away, squishing in his cheeks sternly. “You’re a good big brother,” he says, because someone needs to say it, Rei is so desperate for it all the time. “Keep me updated. I’ll talk to Uncle Kenichi, he’s got better eyes on the local fae. I’ll see if he’s sniffed anything out.”

 

Rei’s eyes water automatically. “Keito-kun is so good to me,” he sniffs, grabbing for both of Keito’s hands. “ _You_ should marry me. Let’s elope, the thrill of forbidden romance is a strong one, don’t you think?”

 

“Don’t push your luck,” Keito says with a sigh. “I ran away with you once, remember? You got cold and hungry and sick of dragging me through the Underground Marsh after five hours.”

 

“I was _barely_ twelve, that doesn’t count.” Rei sniffs again. “But now I know better, and I’d just take you to England.”

 

Keito tugs hard on Rei’s hair. “You think I’m boring. And you’re right. Stop making me remind you that you don’t love me, Rei. It makes me tired and it isn’t kind.”

 

“You could stop putting words in my mouth at any point.” Rei drops his hands, and with it, the conversation. It’s not going to do either of them any good, really. “Let me know if you hear anything? I’ll do the same…at least now you know the school’s not going to be a battleground, right?”

 

Keito closes his notebook tucking it back into his pocket, and heads for the door. “If you think weddings mean _less_ fighting,” he says dryly, wiping out his warding rune, “you haven’t been to the ones I have.”

 

Rei sighs, long and hard, and turns back to his piano. “Wishful thinking on my part, then.”


	6. Chapter 6

The looming threat of marriage doesn’t seem entirely real until Sakuma Airi springs an _engagement party_ on him.

 

Apparently, this is party has been planned for weeks, but Rei hadn’t heard a single thing about it until the morning of. It’s his mother’s way of forcing him into things, as per usual, like the first time she’d forced him into playing violin publicly. Unfortunately, he never glommed onto anything else so hard, though his mother is still stuck on that working again in the exact same way.

 

His mother’s idea of a party is always…extravagant. The sun goes down, and Tokyo Bay’s most enormous ballroom is decorated to his mother’s decadent, European taste, and filled to the brim with creatures of the Underworld and the faerie’s realm, all in their human skins (to varying degrees). Rei would rather spent his time criticizing his mother’s music choices and sulking in a corner, but Airi tolerates none of it and stuffs him into enough velvet and wool and lace that he wants to die, and prior to that, spends her time _personally_ ‘fixing’ his hair.

 

“ _Mom_ , there’s nothing wrong with—“

 

“You grew it out, so it’s going to look nice. None of this ‘rock band’ nonsense—“

 

“Mom, that’s the _look_ —“

 

“And if you really wanted that, you’d cut it to be a proper mullet. Instead, you just put gel in it, and that’s not happening tonight because your mother wants everyone to know you have better taste than that. Tonight, meet the blowdryer.”

 

Sakuma Airi, Queen of the Demon World as far as Japan knows, spends an inordinate amount of time on her eldest son’s hair, and enjoys every second that Rei hates.

 

If this were a party for humans, Rei could at least spend his time hiding in the shadows. It’s a party for everything _but_ humans, and when most of the room is lit by candlelight with all things demon and fae acting like they can see perfectly clearly in it as they listen to terrible orchestral arrangements, there’s nothing to be done. _Mingling_ isn’t a skill he possesses; he can be social in his own group, and performing is something else entirely, but this…

 

Finally, Rei finds the wine, and gulps his way through a glass before trying to escape out onto one of the balconies. Basking in the moonlight sounds nice—at least, that’s the thought process before he bumps firmly into some other creature, and the brilliant shock of long, silvery blue hair makes him stop, blinking, not even processing for a moment. “… _Wataru?_ ” It’s so strange, so unexpected that he has to laugh. Of course, Wataru is fae, but… “What are you…seriously, even you’re here?”

 

Wataru starts, his drink nearly spilling out of the cup, and he makes an extravagant gesture to cover it up. “Amazing!! Rei, my dear friend, what a coincidence that you’re here! Delightful, I couldn’t be happier!”

 

There’s a part of him that wants to panic. He’d hoped, knowing that it was likely in vain, that there would be no one from Yumenosaki here. That might have been foolish, but, well, what’s he supposed to do, but get dressed in his finest finery and meet his fate? (After three failed runaway attempts, of course.)

 

He casts his eyes up and down Rei, jaw slightly agape. “You’re looking incredible tonight. Amazing! Why do you look so beautiful?”

 

“ _Me?_ Look at you, you’re lovely,” Rei dismisses with a flutter of a hand, still clinging firmly to his wine glass with the other. Maybe he should stop drinking now, before he starts running his mouth. He’d hoped very much that he wouldn’t run into anyone that he knew from school, but—Wataru, of course it has to be _Wataru_ , and his mind races. “I suppose we both have to look our best when we’re representing our families, no matter how small. I’ve been told I clean up well, it’s my only asset to the bloodline, heh.”

 

“Oh, of course, of course,” Wataru assures him, reaching out and materializing a glittering black rose, frosted with diamonds. “I trust you’ll keep one and give the other to the lady of the house, no matter how distant she is your cousin? I could never presume to bother her with my own lowly presence.”

 

Oh, fuck. This does remind Rei not to stand anywhere near his mother this evening if Wataru is around—the resemblance is startling, or so he’s been told—but that’s going to be _impossible_ when his mother drags him over for proper _introductions_ and _announcements_. His heart pounds harder, and Rei swallows, his smile tenuous. “A…ah. I’ll see if she’ll humor me.” Never mind, he needs _more_ wine, and he promptly downs what’s left in his glass. “Out to the balcony with me?” he breezily suggests, reaching for the door. “I really can’t stand parties like this.” Wataru, at least, looks like he’s equally bored and miserable; unlike him, but he could easily be having a bad night, too.

 

Wataru jumps at the offer, immediately jumping on to cling to Rei’s arm. Hopefully, out on the balcony, his dear darling distant relatives won’t be able to scrutinize his every move so closely, the way they’re already guarding every damn door and window. “I couldn’t be happier to do so. Oh, that rose is edible, by the way, so do feel free to partake when you whisk me away.”

 

“…Why is it edible?” Rei weakly asks, then shrugs it off, chomping down on a petalas he steers Wataru outside and kicks the door shut behind them. “This looks like it would be your kind of scene,” he points out, flopping down into the nearest seat and basking in the moonlight. At least _that’s_ nice tonight. “Are all the demons putting a damper on your mood?”

 

“The demons? A demon damper? Oh, _hardly_ ,” Wataru says with a merry trill of a laugh. “No, no, what else could be so irritating than family? Ah, it’s no good, you know I was adopted and raised by humans, I’ve never been able to deal properly with any of that...old style sort of creature.”

 

“Mmn, that must be difficult. Sorry for assuming; I’ve just heard that some faeries really don’t like being around us,” Rei says with a sigh, plucking off another rose petal to gnaw on. This one tastes different than the last…chocolate? Weird. “I can’t blame them. _I_ don’t like being around me, and I feel like parties like these bring out the most obnoxious part of everyone’s family…”

 

Wataru smiles, reaching up to wind a finger around his braid, twirling it in a neverending swirl. “I hate parties like this because there aren’t any humans here,” he confides. “I know they’ll only get bothered and eaten, but parties with only creatures from the Underworld are so...” He chews over his words for a moment, thinking for the proper word. “Predictable.”

 

“If humans were invited, they’d be Queen Airi’s meal, and nothing but.” Rei heaves a long sigh, chin in hand as he stares out onto the bay. “Honestly, I agree. At least a handful of Watchers would make this better, don’t you think? Letting that particular brand of human be more educated would only improve relations, and make it so much _easier_ to deal with things…then maybe we wouldn’t need obnoxious functions like these to smooth things over because of what some stupid faerie did. Sorry,” he adds with a roll of his eyes. “Not to insult your kind, but good grief.”

 

Wataru gives a brilliant grin, one that throws sparkles out into the darkness over the bay. “I can only hope that to produce such exquisite results, that errant faerie did something.... _very_ amusing. Ah, though I heard that a few of the demons have been poaching neutral territory as well--even compromising a Watcher, for shame.”

 

“Higher ups with dedicated Watchers don’t have a lot of other options for fun, or so I’ve heard. Ahh, god, I need to be so much drunker for this party,” Rei laments. “I just keep having sympathy pains for the two fools that have to get married…can you imagine? Would _you_ want to marry a frilly fairy princess? I wouldn’t.”

 

Wataru snorts. “Nor me. Ah, and no offense, but the idea of a buxom, oversexed demonic lady straight from the Underworld’s clutches...” He shivers, feeling the iron grip of his future close around his heart. “Heh, good thing you and I aren’t high-born, eh?” Rei is in for _such_ a surprise later tonight. Wataru couldn’t bear to spoil it.

 

“Like our lovely queen, you mean?” If his future bride thinks that’s what she’s ending up with…Rei stifles a groan. “Thank god we aren’t high-born,” he mutters, staring at the balcony railing, contemplating throwing himself over it. He’s ruined. He’s positively _ruined_ , Wataru is going to find out _everything_ about him and he’ll never be able to show his face at Yumenosaki again.

 

Wataru starts to say something, but his mouth closes when a shimmering chime rings out from inside the hall, a thousand flowering faerie bells ringing out in bright, tinkling succession. _Time to face the music_ , he thinks, and just for one last try, throws himself off the balcony.

 

It doesn’t work, of course. There’s a shining barrier, erected by some prescient fourth-cousin of his, that gently flings him back into the hall. Fortunately, he manages to stick a hell of a landing, just before the ringing stops.

 

“Nice try,” Rei drawls, heaving a sigh as he hauls himself to his feet, brushing himself off. “I’ve been contemplating doing that all night, but alas…”

 

“Reeeeei-chan!”

 

_No, no, no, no, at least let me have this much dignity._

 

“Rei-chan, it’s time for you to meet your briiiide,” Sakuma Airi sing-songs as she waltzes through the balcony doors, arms spread wide as behind her, every candle’s flame flickers from orange to purple. Draped in skin-tight black lace that shows _far_ too much of that pale skin, Rei sets his teeth into a grind as his mother embraces him, giving him a long, hard squeeze. It’s hilarious when anyone thinks of his mother as some cold, frozen Queen of the Underworld—all he’s ever known is this horrendous, too-touchy, too-flirty woman that pinches the asses of her own children (especially him) because they’re ‘growing up so big and strong.’ “What are you doing out here, you should be _socializing—_ ooh. Never mind.” Her lips curve, eyes glinting brilliantly red in the night. “I see you two have already met.”

 

Wataru starts to say something, but is cut off by an eerie sound he knows far too well. His fourth cousin, a being of shimmering lithe energy that moves like nothing human ever has, glides close, his onyx boots drawing up sparks from the ice that forms under his feet. He’s tall, taller by twenty centimeters even than Wataru, with dark green hair whispering to the floor behind him and tight-fitting princely brocades decking his slender frame. “Your Majesty,” he breathes, voice heavy with the chime of tinkling bells, inclining his head to Airi, hair swirling in an unseen wind. “I see you’ve discovered our futures, mingling in the twilight.”

 

“Wonderful, isn’t it? It’s like they’re already drawn to one another,” Airi croons, stroking her claws—and they are claws, long and sharp and pointed and painted a dark, almost-black purple tonight—against Rei’s shoulder. “Then I suppose proper introductions aren’t even in order.”

 

Rei keeps expecting this nightmare to come to a head and be done with already. More specifically, he keeps waiting for the being currently in Wataru’s form to transform into some fluffy, frilly faerie girl, because she _clearly_ just took on the most inoffensive faerie he knows, just to lure him in, just to convince him _this is fine._ _This is not fine!_ he mentally screeches, and finally dares to lock eyes with Wataru. _There’s no way you’re the one I’m supposed to marry._

 

Guilt suffuses Wataru’s face. He’d had _some_ suspicion, over the last few minutes, but he doubts Rei had. There’s a tiny kernel--no, it’s false, it has to be, it _can’t_ be something good--of hope, hope that this won’t be the worst thing he’s ever heard of, and only the end of one of his most important friendships. “Surprise,” he says, more weakly than usual.

 

“Neglecting the formalities will nullify any contract, Demon,” Wataru’s cousin Tsuukusa says, lilac eyes glittering like gems. “We are creatures of contract and words, bound only by story and song.”

 

“‘Creatures of contact’—it’s convenient for you to say so after it was your own brat that caused this disaster in the first place by _violating a contract_ ,” Airi lowly says, a warning sharp in her voice as she releases Rei’s arm, stepping in front of him with all 160 centimeters of her frame. “In my domain, you’ll operate by my fancy or I’ll savor the taste of your blood on a battlefield yet.”

 

 _Can we not, Mom_ , Rei wearily thinks, shutting his eyes against his mother’s inevitable bloodlust. Maybe if he just grabs Wataru and kisses him (it isn’t like Wataru isn’t attractive, _thank god_ ), that can be the end of this.

 

Wataru’s guilty look to Rei does nothing to stop Tsuukusa, drawing himself up and offering mildly in his sing-song voice, “The true people of Faerie will continue to abide as we always have, by serving at Your Highness’s fancy while we dwell in her domain, as she and her denizens within ours. And at neutral ground such as this, we are all of us guests, are we not? And upon a battlefield, which is neither neutral nor proprietary, the hostility of such a situation lends itself to my blade of ice, and the searching and seeking of its loveliest victim yet.”

 

“Cousin,” Wataru interrupts, before Tsuukusa can truly build up an epic poetry rhythm, “perhaps if we could have a few moments to--”

 

“To formulate another ill-conceived escape strategy?” Tsuukusa asks, eyes flashing suddenly emerald before easing back to lilac. “Your place is upon the altar. Allow me to escort you.”

 

With that, his hand reaches out to grip Wataru by the shoulder in a grip that looks parental and feels like a chill vice (an ice vice, a vice of ice, Wataru’s mind sing-songs, that way it always starts to do when he’s been around his relatives), dragging him towards the dais.

 

Predictably, Airi whirls her rage upon Rei in short order. “If you screw this up this time,” she snarls, fangs bared as she grabs him by the arm with far more strength than someone of her size should have, “I will _kill you myself._ ”

 

Rei believes it. It makes him consider screwing up just to make her do it. _But what will happen to Wataru, then?_ Wataru, for some reason, seems a dozen times more out of place here; if he’s truly some faerie prince, then there has to be some extenuating circumstance that made him that way, because at least Rei has been in this life long enough to know when to _shut up._

 

_And let’s not forget Ritsu, most of all._

 

Ritsu, who is pissed enough with him not even to _come_ —fair enough, Rei bitterly thinks, but that doesn’t stop that resounding _need_ to protect him from this fate. With that, he dislodges himself from his mother’s hold to stride forward and snatch Wataru away from his cousin by the arm. “My betrothed only needs one escort,” he coldly says, and he pointedly ignores his mother’s pleased sigh in favor of dragging Wataru to the dais himself, where the strange, purple candlelight casts a shadow upon their audience and shows their true forms—strange, floating heads, long hair and longer necks, frog and monkey faces and eyeless sockets, longer furry tails, all denizens of the demon world that no faerie _really_ needs to be exposed to. _And I thought I was good at misbehaving—_ Wataru’s punishment suddenly seems a _little_ more harsh than his own.

 

Wataru shoots Rei a grateful look that, for once, has no trace of artifice. Tsuukusa is a terrifying creature, one that Wataru isn’t entirely sure he understands, and is very sure he doesn’t want to be related to. Rei’s hand is cool against his arm, but still more comforting than Tsuukusa’s ice vice grip. “Looks like this will be a grand party,” he says quietly, looking around at the fae, lining the other side of the dais, pale skin stretched taut over fine bones, long hair dripping to the floor, eyes glittering like gemstones with no feeling in their eyes. “No Ritsu?”

 

“You almost had him as a husband,” Rei dryly says underneath his breath. “Isn’t he lucky, to be able to say ‘pass.’”

 

“All of you lowly creatures here are _fortunate_ to witness such a union,” Airi announces as she strides towards the dais herself, her stilettos clicking across the marble floor. “It isn’t just a show of good faith on the part of you faeries, but a promise of your future support. Thank you,” she adds, sarcasm lacing the words as she sweeps a bow, “for granting my son such a _lovely_ bride in lieu of such tragedy.”

 

 _Does she have to be so combative about it?_ Rei tiredly thinks, and reaches up to grab Wataru by the arms, tugging him to face him instead of the crowd, and unbuttons his collar with long fingers. “Did your kind warn you at all?” he lowly asks. “I’m going to bite you, and drink, and then we’re going to get drunk and ignore everyone until we’re allowed to leave.” The last part is his own addition, but it seems like a good one. It’s just an official _engagement_ , after all; the actual wedding night will be far more obnoxious, and he’ll have time to properly warn Wataru before then.

 

The look that Wataru shoots Rei is dry, but not terribly pleased. “What I’m wearing is low-necked for a reason,” he says sadly. “Did they tell you about me taking a lick of your life force?”

 

“Yep,” Rei sighs, resigned. “Can you be gentle about it? I’ve been starving since I came home, there’s not a lot to go around…”

 

“Stop flirting with your prize, darling.”

 

 _I’ll do what I want_ , Rei crossly thinks, but says nothing, because there’s no point in talking back to his mother publicly at this point. Instead, he makes a show of tracing Wataru’s carotid artery with his thumb, feeling it pulse faster underneath his touch. Blood is still blood, right? Admittedly, he’s never had a taste of pure faerie blood before, but…

 

_Shu is delicious, maybe Wataru is even better?_

 

It’s wishful thinking, and Rei still braces himself for whatever weird taste there might be before he lunges and bites, hard enough to insure a visible reaction and to draw blood even faster to _get it over with._ The taste is—almost too sweet, but that fades to something stranger and sharper, leaving him dizzy after just one swallow.

 

Wataru’s eyes flutter closed, and there’s a ripple of ethereal noise from the Fae portion of the audience, hair rustling like windchimes. His blood goes cool and still, and his toes curl inside his boots, trying to reconcile the sudden interaction of supernatural forces inside his veins swirling and whirling against each other, like dust in a dervish.

 

Rei’s face is exquisitely lovely, but the otherworldly currents make it flicker, showing glimpses of the demon beneath. It’s something leaner, hungrier, alien, then fading back to the familiar face that he knows so well. “Fair is foul,” he whispers. “And foul’s fair.”

 

One swallow is too much, and Rei draws back with a ragged breath, licking the blood from his fangs and wishing he hadn’t. Faeries’ blood— _real_ faeries’ blood, undiluted and shockingly pure—tastes like drinking liquid, molten silver, and…it’s not _bad_ , but it is far too rich in about twenty different ways. The effort it takes to not vomit is considerable. Any faerie gathering would think that was an insult for sure, and his mother…ugh, whatever, it’s _done_. “Thanks for the meal,” he adds under his breath, hoping he doesn’t sound too sarcastic, because there’s at least half a dozen kitsune with too-sharp hearing breaking out into giggles already.

 

Wataru sucks in a breath, steeling himself for what comes next. It’s his turn, but he’s heard horror stories about his distant relatives trying to take a sneaky lick from a human, and then discovered that it was a demon instead, and getting profusely sick in the process. But Rei had done it--looks a little green, but he’d done it--so he has no choice, as Tsuukusa’s diamond glare shows him.

 

He takes another breath, and leans in, nuzzling up behind Rei’s ear and feeling around for that thin golden thread of Rei’s life force, inhaling deeply. An older cousin could have done it from ten paces away without anything so obvious as a physical sniff, but Wataru is new, and young, and hadn’t been properly trained. He inhales, and feels the sharp-shock electric tingle of demon life force through his body, rooting him to the ground. He grits his teeth, and from the way he hears musical chimes of laughter, he doesn’t do a good job of looking like he isn’t affected. “Ah...do we get drunk now?” he whispers, trying to smile.

 

Oh, god. Married.

 

 _Strange_ is not the word for how it feels to have his life force slurped on like that, and Rei clamps down on every single visceral reaction he has to smack Wataru in the face physically and magically. That’s probably not a good way to treat his faerie bride, though, so he refrains.

 

Wataru, though—he looks far more affected than Rei does, so it’s up to him to cover for them both. _Or maybe it’s just easier to spend time doting on Wataru and handling things for him than it is to deal with this actual situation,_ his mind cheerfully points out to him, to which Rei promptly squashes those thoughts. “If all parties are satisfied, then my consort and I would have a bottle of wine,” Rei announces, grabbing Wataru by the hand to drag him from the dais. Playing the role of a spoiled, arrogant Demon Prince has always gotten him places, because selfishness and giving orders is all the Underworld ever really understands.

 

Airi giggles, cheerfully clapping her hands before she sweeps forward to pat his cheek. “What a good child. Mother’s proud of you—ah, of _course_ , a bottle of the finest wine…”

 

Rei veers away from her with a huff, ignoring the stilted applause (it’s bound to sound like that, some demons don’t even have _hands_ ) and hauls Wataru over to sit as far away from the party as they’re allowed, a cushioned chair as good as it’s going to get. “We’re going to be bothered all night,” he quietly warns as he drops down next to him. “Other demons are going to want to try and taste you. If I have to act like even more of a jackass to make them stop, sorry.”

 

“Don’t apologize,” Wataru says, exhaling deeply and trying to remain steady on his feet when so much demon influence is coursing through his body. He slides down to the chair, leaning over to lay his head on Rei’s shoulder, something they’ve done a thousand times, though it feels _slightly_ different now. “I love acting. Let me know what part I should play, my cousins have been incredibly unhelpful about such information.”

 

“I feel like they’ve entirely hung you out to dry,” Rei murmurs, reaching up a hand to pet Wataru’s hair—a soothing gesture more than anything, but his own kind will take it as possessive, and that’s all that matters. “Were you raised in rural faerieland and never exposed to your kingdom or something?”

 

Some weird, scurrying little toad of a demon hops over, delivers an enormous bottle of wine and one ( _one_ ) glass, which is just petty, and so Rei scowls, kicking the wretch away the second it tries to take a snap at Wataru’s ankle.

 

Wataru forces a little smile, and grabs for the wine, pouring it into the glass. Remarkably, the small glass manages to hold the entire bottle, the weight increasing as he keeps pouring. _I can do that with slight of hand, but how the hell do you do that with magic?_ “Worse,” he says, taking a long sip, swallowing a few times. “Ah, I suppose if we’re...married now...you’ll be meeting my parents. So. Just so you know, I was raised human.” The rest of the story can wait, he supposes.

 

“…What did you _do_ to get roped into this?” The details have always been kept deliberately obscure (and deliberately from him, his mother is like that), but it’s hard to imagine Wataru, raised human even if he’s apparently pureblood and high-born, did something so _terrible_ as to be tossed away to a demon clan. Rei pulls the wine glass from his grasp, taking a much-needed drink. “All _I_ did was insult my cousin, and getting married to a faerie isn’t exactly a _huge_ punishment for a demon. Your blood strengthens ours, but it doesn’t work the other way around so well.”

 

Wataru sighs, looking out at the whirling, glittering bits of light and darkness, demon and fae, making the most of the dancing portion of the evening. A butterfly tries to spy on him, and he flicks the shining thing, watching it turn back into a pixie with a haughty sneer and fly away.

 

“I wound up in accidental debt to your Queen,” he admits. “I was doing a magic trick in Inokashira Park. A gentleman was teaching me a modification, he was attacked, I intervened. Turned out he was one of your Queen’s underlings, hunting prey. He had a license. I...didn’t know they did that, grant licenses to hunt certain humans?” He doesn’t know much about this entire world, that’s for certain.

 

“Demons aren’t as lawless as you might think.” Another gulp of wine, and Rei passes the glass back over. “Especially Japanese demons. Criminals, big and small, are fair game; murderers, thieves, rapists, pedophiles…and they’re hard to spot here, so licenses make you privy to a lot of information you wouldn’t otherwise have. Hunt without one, and you’re _going_ to be executed.” Rei sighs. “If you killed someone like that, no wonder. My mother’s picky about who gets to hunt.”

 

Wataru spreads his hands. “I didn’t know,” he says simply. “I saw teeth flash, I didn’t...I told you, I was raised human, I threw a deck of cards. One of them went right through him. I had no idea I had that kind of power.”

 

Then he beams brilliantly. “And you had no idea, for the last month! My acting is incredible! Amazing!”

 

“You had no idea about me, either,” Rei wearily points out. “Don’t get too excited. It’s not… _good_ to be unaware of what you’re capable of, either. Faeries really need to get their act together.”

 

Wataru flaps a hand. “I’d prefer less oversight by them, honestly, but they didn’t know about me, either, until the Queen came down on me. Surprise! The lost prince is found, it’s a miracle--and an alliance, in exchange for release.”

 

Rei grimaces, and grabs the wine back. “Your kind does seem, ah. You know, fuck it, they’re really unpleasant,” he bluntly says. He can say it now, he’s already married, who cares? “If you end up like some of them, I’m divorcing you, I can do that if you’re found to be an unsuitable bride.”

 

Wataru’s eyes fly open, startled. “You can? No one told me that.”

 

“…Ah. Yeah. I mean, I was joking, I’m not going to do that to you,” Rei hastily says, fluttering a hand. “That would just be mean. But my mom went through about twelve consorts before she settled on one she wanted to make little demon babies with, for example. Royalty in the Demon World can basically do whatever they want.”

 

Wataru reaches for the wine again, taking another long pull. The liquid level doesn’t change, even as the warmth starts to spread down to his fingers. “What makes a consort unacceptable, then? If I’m going to be dragged into the underworld, I might as well know what will keep me here.”

 

“My mom keeps my dad trussed up in her bedroom permanently and I think I’ve only ever talked to him twice, so I think I might be the wrong person to ask. But probably…being too outspoken? Loud? Ah, generally flamboyant…basically you in a nutshell,” Rei wryly comes to the conclusion of, and flops back tiredly. “You’re going to annoy the hell out of my mother. Maybe I can convince her that you still need to live with your family in the meantime…”

 

Wataru blinks. “The meantime? I had understood that we’d be, ah...what’s the word. Consorting? Immediately, since both of us are of age.” He isn’t exactly angry if that’s incorrect, but he _is_ a little confused about what exactly this marriage will entail. Tsuukusa isn’t forthcoming.

 

Rei’s head tilts entirely sideways. “…Maybe by the _English_ court of demons and faeries we’d be of age,” he says with a startled little laugh. “In Japan, demons, at least, realize that we take quite a bit longer to age. We’re both babies, you know. If I knocked you up now, that would be sort of tasteless. Even if you disagree, you might as well play it up for your benefit.”

 

Wataru brightens at that, some of the dull gray in his hair suddenly throwing off a vibrant sheen as he sits up. “Really? Ah, of course, I’ve always felt _terribly_ immature. So this is sort of a...what, a pre-marriage?” That sounds _much_ easier to escape, especially if Rei isn’t planning on keeping him caged, as Tsuukusa had told him would be his new spouse’s right.

 

“We’re basically children being married off for show,” Rei wryly confirms, and plucks up the wine glass again. “It makes everyone shut up and be satisfied for now, so long as we both behave. Ugh, you’re so sparkly, can you not do that in my eyes?” he complains, and downs a mouthful of wine. “Anyway, that’s why we don’t have to have a huge, long ceremony tonight where I bend you over and have my way with you on stage. Demon weddings are a _lot_ more work.” 

 

Wataru takes the cup, and another long sip. “You know,” he says conversationally, “they told me I’d be marrying a demon princess. I imagine they thought it would appease me more than the truth of your gender, but honestly, they should have told me the truth.”

 

Rei chokes on a laugh. “My mom didn’t tell me _anything_ , but the last time she tried to marry me off, it was to a demon princess, so I assumed,” he helplessly admits. “I’m not going to lie—it’s a relief that it’s…you, and not some frilly princess that won’t stop sparkling. It’s not like I don’t think you’re sexy.”

 

Wataru’s cheeks flush as he watches the fairy lights spinning above the dance floor. They blur a little, probably because of the wine. “You’re going to have to tell me what to do. Not just in this, but...” He grimaces. “You’ve mentioned children. A mystery to me! But the plain truth is that I haven’t the slightest idea how to create one between two men, let alone between a demon and a faerie.”

 

“With enough magic, anything is possible,” Rei cheerfully says, and he snatches the wine glass back to finish it off. A whole bottle of wine between the two of them, that was certainly a choice. “At least our children will be attractive! I’m too young to talk about that, though,” he complains in direct contrast to his usual complaints of being too _old_ at school. “I ran off to England to avoid this nonsense, you know.”

 

“And here I thought it was to pursue your deep and abiding love of jazz dance. My, how fickle your affections!” Wataru feels flushed and warm inside and out, and his hand wanders, fingertips tracing over the back of Rei’s hand. “How long do we have to stay here, dearest husband?” Ooh, that’ll take some practice to roll off the tongue.

 

“… _You’re_ a lightweight,” Rei accuses with as much wry amusement as an evening like this can muster. Well, he can’t say the wine was a bad choice; it took the edge off for Wataru, who definitely thought he was going to be tossed into a dungeon, and it made Rei’s own nerves settle down to a dull, annoyed thud. “Just a little longer.” Rei leans over, reaching over to gently tap a finger underneath Wataru’s chin, lifting up his face. “If I whisk you away after a few kisses, no one will say a thing. In fact, my mother will be thrilled.”

 

“And my relatives will be horrified. Excellent, kiss me!”

 

It sounds like a smart idea--until Rei’s lips touch Wataru’s.

 

Then his word shifts rapidly, because he’d never been prepared for how soft and warm Rei’s kiss makes him feel. It’s overwhelming, stealing through his veins like the venom had done, making him feel lightheaded, half-swooning in his new husband’s arms.

 

Maybe faeries are a little bit more delicate when it comes to alcohol. Shu had always been somewhat sensitive to the stuff, but Wataru is…amusingly, almost cutely drunk at this point, and kissing someone that pliant is shockingly enjoyable. “Don’t—don’t pass out on me, I barely put my tongue in your mouth,” Rei teases, pulling back and holding Wataru’s face in his hands. “Take it easy, you’re acting like you’ve never been kissed properly before.”

 

“Whether I have or not...is a surprise,” Wataru says very seriously, then giggles, snorting a little through his nose. “Are you surprised, Rei? Tell me you are.”

 

Wataru does _not_ need to be at a demon party when he’s this incapacitated. “Right, we’re going,” Rei sighs, climbing to his feet and grabbing Wataru’s hand. “Can you stand?”

 

“Yes!” Wataru stands, trips over his own feet, and grabs onto Rei’s shirt, eyes wide. “No!” he says in a stage-whisper, and makes himself laugh again, pitching forward to lay his head on Rei’s chest, which is quite a feat when Rei is only a single centimeter taller than he is. “Rei, demon alcohol is _very_ strange. I can taste more colors than usual.”

 

“It’s strong,” Rei agrees, his gaze flitting across the room when this very drunk Wataru that he has seemingly acquired starts attracting the attention of other demons that would think he’s deliciously vulnerable. A slow, menacing bare of his fangs does the trick to make them look elsewhere, and he moves to get a hand underneath Wataru’s knees, and calmly scoop him off of his feet and into his arms, princess-style. “Mother,” he calls, interrupting his mother’s entertaining of four different vampires from much _lesser_ families, “this hotel has a room for us, doesn’t it?”

 

Airi glances up, pleasantly surprised, and she flutters a hand. “Of course, dear. The top floor is ours, I believe, take your pick.”

 

At least his mother thinks he’s behaving appropriately. The glares of faeriekind are actually kind of creepy, and he can’t wait to leave. “Please don’t try to crawl out of my arms,” he sighs, heading towards the exit.

 

“My husband is so strong!” Wataru trills, thrilled. “Rei, so manly! Ahh, carry me away, I see my great-great-great aunt, she’s always been nasty. Doesn’t like British humor. Ahaha, those are all lies, I have no idea who any of these people are!” He gestures so wildly he nearly falls out of Rei’s arms despite the warning, and grabs onto Rei’s neck firmly. “Whoops!”

 

“Contain yourself for five more minutes, _love_ ,” Rei grinds out, tempted to carry Wataru out like a sack of potatoes, especially when he’s being _so_ ridiculous. He hoists Wataru up carefully all the same, and thankfully, lesser little demon blobs skitter into the shadows as he walks, hissing and breathing black shadow, but refusing to come close enough to nip at Wataru’s dangling hair.

 

He’s never been so grateful to be alone in an elevator in his life—well, that’s not entirely true, but this is right on up there. He sighs, mashing a button with his elbow and lets his head hit back against the wall as the doors slide shut. “Will you look at that, we escaped, and now I know you can’t handle demon alcohol at _all_.”

 

Wataru reaches up, petting Rei’s neck. “Accurate-- _absolument_!” He kicks his feet with a wild laugh, then clings to Rei’s neck harder when the world starts spinning, the bottom dropping out of the floor. “Elevators. Too much. Rei....Rei, make it stop.”

 

“Yes, yes, it’s just one more floor.” Thank _god_ , because Wataru clearly needs to be in a bed, and Rei needs to be out of fancy clothes and with his hair far less _groomed._

 

The elevator dings, and Rei quickly strides out, picking a room half-way between the elevator and the end of the hall. The keycode lock on the door predictably matches the number his mother uses in their own home, and he lets them inside, kicking the door shut behind them. “Here we are,” he sighs, making his way to the bed to carefully plop Wataru down. “You can let go now, Wataru.”

 

Wataru lets go, then raises up a little, shaking out his head to let his hair spill over the pillows all around himself. Then he lays back, staring at the ceiling, arms out in supplication. “I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died. They say he made a good end. For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy...”

 

Rei rolls his eyes as he unbuttons his coat and tosses it over the back of a chair. “I’ve already had edible roses tonight, I think I’m good. Do you want a glass of water? Never mind, you’re having one whether you want it or not.” Vampire venom and demon alcohol probably isn’t a great combination for a faerie—being high and drunk at the same time can be _fairly_ terrible, Rei knows.

 

Glass of water retrieved, Rei plops down on the side of the bed to hand it over. “Quite an evening, huh?”

 

Wataru takes the water, leaning up to gulp the entire thing, then makes the glass shimmer and disappear as he flops back. “All flaxen was his poll,” he sing-songs, kicking off his boots. “He is gone, he is gone, and we cast away moan, God ha’ mercy on his soul...”

 

He raises up on his elbows, frowning. “You were in England when I did _Hamlet_ , weren’t you? I was a revelation as Ophelia.”

 

“I’m sure you were.” Rei steals the tie at the end of Wataru’s braid, and uses it to pull his hair own hair back. “I missed you, while I was there,” he admits. “You, and Kanata, and Shu…mmn, but I didn’t come back to either of them joining Tenshouin Eichi’s unit.” He gently pinches Wataru’s side. “Traitor.”

 

Wataru smiles dreamily, reaching up to grab Rei’s shirt. “I think,” he confesses, eyes too-wide, “that he is _delicious_. Ah, not that it wouldn’t be delightful to be destroyed by such a man, but...I wanted to see him up close, I suppose. Isn’t he just terribly adorable?”

 

“No, I intensely dislike him.”

 

“Nonsense, he’s so cute. Be honest with your feelings.”

 

“I dislike him. He tried to cause me serious bodily harm on several different occasions, and he crushed Shu to little pieces.”

 

Wataru pouts, letting go of Rei and curling up on his side. “Shu cheated. You can’t deny that. I’m not defending Eichi, but...Shu _did_ behave poorly.”

 

“But he didn’t have to press the issue _afterwards_ ,” Rei persists, giving Wataru’s back a little poke. “I’ll ignore how you’re ignoring the serious bodily harm to my own person part of this conversation and drop it if you like, but don’t expect me to ever enjoy his company.”

 

“If you did,” Wataru says with a laugh, squirming at the poke, “and everyone got along perfectly, life would be terribly boring, wouldn’t it? If your little pet Watcher started enjoying my company, wouldn’t you simply _die?_ ”

 

“No,” Rei honestly answers, withdrawing his hand after patting Wataru’s back, and sliding off the bed. Now that things have died down a little bit, being reminded of Keito reminds him to retrieve his phone and check in. “I’d be thrilled. My life would be a dozen times easier.” He pauses, fishing his phone out of his coat pocket. “If you knew he was my Watcher…what did you think I was?” he bemusedly asks. “A random low-ranking pureblood with a bodyguard for no reason?”

 

Wataru blinks. “He’s _your_ Watcher?” he asks, genuine surprise on his face. “I knew he was _a_ Watcher and I knew you liked him, that’s all.”

 

“Ah. Whoops.” Not that it matters. He would’ve told Wataru in the next breath, anyway. “He’s been my Watcher since I was…eight? Nine? Very young. Well, theoretically, his older brother was, but I didn’t get along with him, so I insisted on Keito-kun instead, even though he was far too young for the job.”

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: so**

**you’re not going to like this**

 

“Keito-kun thinks you’re a bad influence on Tenshouin—that’s the only reason he doesn’t get along with you,” Rei tosses over, flopping down onto the other bed in the room. He’s not entirely ready to share a bed with his husband-apparent, especially not when Wataru is still obviously buzzed. “Personally, I don’t think there’s a way for Tenshouin to have any more terrible influences on his life, so…” 

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: -_-**

**I never like anything. Are you all right? Not that I would be worried.**

 

“Oh, he’s his own terrible influence,” Wataru says merrily. “Don’t you think? He so rarely needs any help or advice as far as finding something terrible to do...but he is trying to be better, and I find that so endearing.”

 

“If he doesn’t need help or advice when it comes to finding something terrible to do, how is that trying to be better?” Rei dryly asks, holding his phone up above his face.

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: (°** ◡ **°** **♡** **).:** **｡**

**guess who is MARRIED**

**technically. real ceremony later. this was the prelim. you’re not gonna believe to who**

 

“He’s trying, I didn’t say he was succeeding. Ah, the impossible dream! To bear with unbearable sorrow, to run where the brave dare not go!”

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: Rei...**

**I don’t remember the last time I didn’t have a headache that was you-induced. I’m looking up how Watchers can force Demon annulments.**

 

“If you care about him as much as you’re trying to let on, then you should probably force the issue of him being a decent human being a bit more—and this is a demon saying as much,” Rei says with a roll of his eyes.

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: yeeees**

**i don’t think you can in this case, but you’re going to want to. it’s wataru. did you know he was such an important faerie?? i didn’t!**

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: see**

**this is why we should have eloped ( ˘ ³˘)** **♥**

 

“Rei, my darling--darling _husband_ , how exciting--you should know better.” Watari rolls over, kicking his feet into the air. “I won’t force anyone to be anything. He says that being around me compels him to be better, isn’t that charming?”

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject:**

**snap.jpg**

 

Attached is a photograph of a part of one of Keito’s Watcher scrolls, specifically the section titled _Legality of Execution Regarding Faeriekind by Watchers in Extenuating Circumstances._

 

“He’s telling you that because he wants you to be in his unit,” Rei wearily says, glancing over to Wataru with a frown. “He’s a manipulative bastard. You _know_ that.”

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject:**

**this is a marriage to literally keep my mom from killing everyone**

 

“I know.” Wataru pulls a pillow down over his head, trying to make the room stop swimming. “My head feels strange. Besides, I had no control over joining fine.”

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: your Mother**

**i’m calling Grandfather, she’s got sanctions coming and maybe a spanking**

 

“…What do you _mean_ you had no control over joining fine? Did he say a magical rhyme or something?” Rei actually doesn’t know anything about faeries beyond the fact that they sparkle too much.

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: nnnnnnn**

**no no no no please don’t she thinks i’m behaving and being good and i don’t want to get yelled at it’s really fine it’s just wataru and it could be SO BAD i actually like him as a friend so maybe this can work???**

 

“He coughed blood on my face and into my mouth. He got one wish, whether he knew it or not.” Wataru shrugs. “I asked him what it was. He said he only wished me to join fine. I thought it would be better to act as if I wanted to.”

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: REI**

**I should have been NOTIFIED i should have been PRESENT so i can make sure you aren’t signing any contracts or entering into any agreements YOU KNOW THIS I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE**

 

“That…that seems like a fairly annoying caveat to having someone cough up blood on your face.” Rei’s gaze flicks sideways to him again. “Are you telling me I could cough up blood on your face at some point and get the same deal? Vampires deal with a lot of blood, this seems unsafe.”

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: keeeeito**

**I WANTED YOU TO BE THERE BUT YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN EATEN YOU KNOW HOW DEMON PARTIES ARE. i didn’t have a choice!!! it was for the sake of the ENTIRE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT please don’t be mad at me** **｡ﾟ** **(** **ﾟ** **இ** **‸** **இ** **ﾟ** **)** **ﾟ｡**

 

“Only if you got it in my mouth. I was...surprised. I don’t usually open my mouth when blood comes flying at me, Rei.” Wataru huffs into the pillow. “Nn. This is so soft, why is it so soft?”

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: REI**

**I am your WATCHER i can take care of myself! if wed known Grandfather would have been there she cant pull one over on him.**

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: grammar**

**I meant we had not wed. you are wedded. i cannot believe it.**

 

“Because we’re in a very expensive hotel and it’s a very nice bed.”

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: ugh**

**my mom does this kind of stuff all the time, keito. it’s not a matter of pulling one over on anyone, she wanted it to happen so it did. hold on, wataru is very drunk and i have to help him.**

 

Rei sighs and sets his phone down for a moment, long enough to gather up Wataru’s hair, pile it up onto a pillow, and try to flip him over onto his back. “Let’s get some of your clothes off so you can get comfortable and go to _sleep_ ,” he firmly says. “Tomorrow, basically everything will be back to normal.”

 

“Undress me, husband.” Wataru looks up at Rei, staring at him with huge purple eyes, flopping onto his back. “That would be _amazing!_ Ahh....my parents, they’ll be wondering where I am....how unfortunate...”

 

“Did you bring your phone? Just tell them you’re staying the night with a friend.” Rei fiddles with the clasps on Wataru’s collar, annoyed by weird faerie silks for a moment before he figures it out, and opens the shirt up the entire way down to help peel Wataru out of it. _He has such a nice body, what the hell._ “You’re _not_ good at pretending to be human. I’m amazed you were undetected for so long.”

 

“Was my mom.” Wataru huffs out a breath, half-laugh, half startled sigh, and he relaxes, letting Rei undress him. His mouth keeps moving, even if he doesn’t want it to. “Here, Rei, I’ll tell you a story, do you want to hear a story about a cute little orphan boy? He wasn’t in a peach, I promise...”

 

“Wataru, love, you’ve told me before,” Rei gently reminds him, pulling Wataru’s hair over his face in hopes of silencing him. “You can add the faerie details if you want, but I know the rest.” He tugs Wataru’s shoes off, then his socks, and then goes for his trousers. “I’m going to wrap you up like a sushi roll in this very nice bed and you’re going to get a good sleep, all right? Do you want me to text your parents? What’s their number?”

 

Wataru waves a hand, put out by his story being interrupted. “You don’t deserve my songs and stories,” he mutters, face gone stormy, eyes scrunched up. “I never told you, what a horrible lie.”

 

“Ahhh, so you don’t remember the last time you got _gently_ sloshed at Shu’s, and poured out all of your parental woes upon us?” Rei promptly hauls the blankets up around him, and tucks him in. “I like hearing your stories, don’t be angry with me.”

 

Wataru tries to thunk Rei’s chest in rebuke, but he’s tightly swaddled, which is shockingly comfortable. “Ah. Surprise! It’s lovely.” He blows out an exhale, making his hair ruffle in the breeze. “They know I’m spending the night at a friend’s house. I just...miss them. And if you wanna hear my stories, don’t tell me I’ve already told them.”

 

“I just don’t see the point in you telling something that makes you upset,” Rei quietly says, brushing Wataru’s hair out of his face. “Do you like this braided when you sleep?” He’s not sure how Wataru would deal with it otherwise.

 

Wataru looks up at him, as if he can’t quite understand the question. “Hmm? Oh. I suppose.” He scrunches up his nose, and his hair unbraids itself, fluttering down to the pillow. “Rei...you have to teach me. How to take care of you.”

 

“Mm? You don’t need to do anything.” Rei sits on the edge of Wataru’s bed, taking his time to gather up all of Wataru’s hair and braid the entire mass of it. It’s strangely silky and soft, or maybe more like those weird satin sheets his mother likes, because it likes to slip and slide against one another and generally be difficult. “Like it or not, this is the world I’m used to,” he wryly points out. “All I need from you is for you to follow my lead.”

 

“Unlikely,” Wataru says, then hums a verse of an old, old song, leaning back to stare up at the ceiling, letting Rei play with his hair. “Haven’t you heard? It’s the job of the Fae to make life difficult for everyone else. I’m...I’m nothing but trouble, Rei, so prepare yourself!”

 

“…See, it’s not cute to say ‘you have to teach me how to take care of you’, and then when I give you one direction, you tell me it’s unlikely or even impossible.” Rei sighs, tucking Wataru’s braid into the blankets as well, and bends to press a kiss to his forehead before climbing to his feet to shut off the room’s singular, dim lamp. “ _Try_ not to be difficult? Maybe?” he suggests, kicking off his own shoes and stripping out of his own clothes before flopping back into his bed and snatching up his phone. “I don’t care who else you want to torment, but we have to be in this together, or it’s not going to be fun.”

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: i’m back**

**send nudes**

 

“Rei. I’ll try. But beware, I’m a lot to handle. You’ve never tried hard to handle me, have you? You’ve always been content to sit back and watch the fireworks.”

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: here**

**http://www.bergoiata.org/fe/Bouddha/Buddha%20at%20Sensoji,%20Japan.jpg**

 

“I don’t want to _handle_ you, Wataru. You’re supposed to be my partner, so work _with me_.” He thinks he’s being very mature about handling this situation, _honestly._

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: fuck you**

**YOUR nudes**

 

“I said I’ll try! But I know myself--ah, whatever, I’ll let you discover it yourself. Enjoy our future, husband.”

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: hey**

**The Buddha belongs to all of us.**

 

“Oh,” Rei grumbles, briefly stuffing his face down into a pillow. “I’m sure I will. Sleep well, Wataru.”

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: (** ⌯ **˃̶᷄** **﹏** **˂̶᷄** ⌯ **)**

**why are you so mean to me i just want to see your naked body**

 

“I appreciate how you have your phone set to silent,” Wataru says sleepily. “Good night, Rei.”

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: how to make face**

**you have seen it. it looks the same.**

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: kaoru-kun showed me**

**and saved them to hot keys. keito. i have had a long night please be nice**

 

This is a fun thing they’re going to have to adjust—faeries are not terribly nocturnal in the first place, and when drunk, it seems that Wataru is very much like any normal human, sleepy before the clock strikes twelve. Rei heaves another sigh, twisting to the side to politely block the light of his cellphone as he plops his chin into his hand, and takes a extraordinarily pouty selfie.

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject:**

**mad.jpg**

**you can’t act all possessive and angry and then not send me nudes**

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: ???**

**which keys are hotter than others i cannot tell. why would you want a nude photograph of me? typing is hard we should meet**

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: how are you alive**

**nm i know you’re like this. keito. you know why i want a nude pic of you it’s because i like seeing you naked why are you being so OBTUSE**

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject: Rei**

**I doubt you considered this or anything else but our carnal relationship and anything flirty will cease immediately on my end. You are married. I am your Watcher.**

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: ohhh my god**

**i’m a demon prince i can fuck whoever i want? human rules about marriage don’t apply, do you know how many men my mother is going to ‘entertain’ tonight?? the only vaguely appropriate argument here is that you’re my watcher but that’s never stopped us before**

 

**To: Rei**

**Subject:**

**human rules about marriage and morality apply to me, Rei. Good night.**

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject:**

**you’re BUDDHIST i thought no one CARED in BUDDHISM it’s not the same kind of marriage anyway you were telling me to nullify it half an hour ago!!**

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject:**

**forget it you’re the worst and i hate you**

 

Shoving his phone underneath a pillow and stuffing his face into another to silently scream seems like an appropriate end to one of the most _obnoxious_ nights of his life.


	7. Chapter 7

Ritsu usually feels like life is something he’s content to sleep through. On the day he finds out his mother had tricked him into missing his brother’s wedding ceremony, however, he isn’t tired at _all_.

  


Possibilities swirl in his mind, and he leaves his room, skipping Mao’s house when he hears the distinctive sounds of _Trickstar_ practicing inside, and heads into the wealthiest area besides his own, stalking up to the largest, loveliest house of all. He runs, heading directly into the grounds--

  


Only to be violently thrown back as he crashes into an invisible wall, hurling him across an entire city street. He hits a tree, head thunking hard into it, enough to make his vision blur. Ritsu snarls, struggling to his feet, only to feel power lash out, slamming him back into the tree, so hard he starts heaving and coughing. He tries to move, fingers clawing at the bark, but gravity increases on him, pressing him into the ground, pinning him like a bug under a giant’s foot, so hard he hears his ribs creak, hard enough that he swears he’ll hear them snap any second.

  


Then, suddenly, the pressure stops. It stays on him, but doesn’t advance, holding him down so hard that the smallest pebble on the ground feels like a knife in his back. 

  


Something glints above him. Ritsu’s eyes flutter open, only to see Hasumi Keito, dressed in traditional Japanese shrine robes, adjusting his glasses. “Oh, good. I was worried the traps had gotten rusty. It’s nice to see that they’re still capable of catching a rat.”

  


“Lemme up,” Ritsu hisses, spitting blood. His pulse thrums in his own ears, pain shooting through him with every tortured half-breath.

  


“Why should I?”

  


“I’m just--here to see Ecchan--I’m not a rat, lemme go!”

  


Keito observes him dispassionately for a long moment, and pulls out his cell phone.

  


**To: Eichi**

**Subject: caught**

**rat.jpg**

  


“We’ll see if the owner of the cheese wishes to release you for trespassing.”

 

It only takes a minute or two before a text arrives in return, almost audibly laced with amusement.

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: awww**

**he’s cute! give him to me, rats make great pets.**

 

Keito sighs. His fingers twitch on the runes, but he stills them, not yet relenting. “If you’re in pain,” he says warningly, “you’ll need to drink within a day. I’m the Watcher assigned to this district. You will not find me pleasant if you prey on Eichi if--”

 

“Fuck you!” Ritsu tries to sound tough, but it _hurts_ , and the words come out as more of a whine. “Ecchan wants to see me! You _know_ he does!”

 

Keito grits his teeth, and banishes the wards. “There’s a seal on the inside,” he says, leaning down to wipe at Ritsu’s mouth with the sleeve of his haori. Then he looks around, and pulls out a small sealed package, handing it over. “Drink this, and you’ll heal.”

 

Ritsu scowls, but rips the plastic off the end of the package, sucking up the donated blood, eyelids fluttering. His ribs slowly stop aching, little cuts and bruises healing as he swallows resentfully. “Not good stuff. Low-quality.”

 

“It’s concentrated. Go on, he’s expecting you. But I’m watching.”

 

Ritsu sneers, setting off for the manor again, scaling the wall to Eichi’s room as if he’s done it a thousand times rather than just once. “Ecchan, open up!”

 

Eichi flips the latch on the bay door window, his eyebrows raising in amusement at the sight of Ritsu literally climbing up the side of his manor to get to him. “Was Keito so mean that he wouldn’t let you walk inside on your own?” he sighs, tsking lightly and offering him a hand. “You should have called, Ritsu-kun. I would’ve met you.”

 

Ritsu jumps in, eyes wild, and shuts the window. He prowls around the perimeter, checking the door to make sure it won’t kill him. Then he whirls around, facing Eichi, and demands, “Do you want me as a Patron? For real?”

 

Ritsu is acting like he’s possessed—which would be ironic, considering what kind of creature he is. Eichi stares at him, his head slowly tilting as he folds his arms across his chest. “A sudden change of heart requires a less than brief explanation,” he settles upon. “So go on.”

 

“I hate my mom.” Ritsu’s eyes glow a sullen pulsing red in the dim light, then advances on Eichi, getting close enough to him to kiss, but looking fierce, demanding. “I’ll help you become powerful, if you want. You could even fight her, I can make you _really_ strong and tell you all her weak points.”

 

Eichi’s eyes narrow. It’s an offer that seems too sudden, too good to be true to be trusted—because as much as it appeals to every single one of his sensibilities, Tenshouin Eichi isn’t a fool, and Sakuma Ritsu can be a vindictive little shit.

 

“…Is this the level of hate that comes when your mother won’t let you stay out late, or the level of hate when she kills your boyfriend?” Eichi lowly asks, not drawing back in the slightest. “I’m not saying no. I’m merely interested in hearing more.”

 

“My brother got married.” Ritsu’s teeth glint, fangs extended in the low light--not a threat, just generally furious. “She did it in secret to keep me from knowing until it was over.”

 

“Ah.” Eichi’s expression doesn’t change. “Already? And here I thought I was invited. It seems she was trying to keep a number of us out of the loop.” That _does_ explain Keito’s generally gloomy mood for the past day, the loon. “Well, then,” he says, contemplative. “If that’s the case, then she’s clearly planning to work against more of us than previously expected. Shutting out humans, Watchers, her own children…”

 

“Do you want it?” Ritsu demands, grabbing Eichi’s shirt, yanking him close. “I will make you the most powerful human alive. I can share secrets with you that _no_ human is supposed to know. And I’m the only one who’ll do it just because I’m angry, so make your choice.”

 

“Yes.” Any normal human would probably wait a bit longer to think that over, but why should he? Waiting around for the _approval_ of his parents’ word or listening to Keito try to talk him out of something like this seems ridiculous at best when Ritsu is promising something _so_ nice. The idea of that kind of power makes his breath catch, and Eichi licks his lips, reaching up to grab at Ritsu’s hand. “But I’m not going to be your _pet_. Understand that before you do anything.”

 

Ritsu nods, not caring at all when Eichi is actually _agreeing_ with him, when Eichi at least doesn’t seem to be pushing him away, when Eichi actually wants to be _close_ to him. “You’ll have to stick close to me,” he says eagerly, running his tongue carefully over his fangs. “You need my continued cooperation if you’re gonna _stay_ powerful. So no keeping me in a cage, huh?”

 

Eichi laughs at that, and reverses his grip on Ritsu’s hand to jerk him forward and against him. “What would be the point in keeping something so lovely in a cage?” he murmurs, eyes alight as he grabs Ritsu’s chin, tilting his head up. “How much is your mother going to hate this?”

 

“A lot.” Ritsu grins. “A lot more if you do what I’m asking and kill her.” The thought holds no horror for him, and no sadness. Airi hasn’t exactly been the model mother of the year.

 

“…And if your mother is dead, then that means your brother is in charge.” Eichi’s head cocks. “Are you in on this with him? Or is this your own little coup, planned on an impulse?”

 

“The second one.” Ritsu’s teeth flash, moonlight rippling out from behind a cloud to illuminate him. “I don’t care about power. That part’s up to you. You know I’ll protect my brother, but if you wanna seize a bunch of their territory while chaos reigns, you’ll have plenty of time.”

 

“Sounds fun. Mm, but…wasn’t he marrying some faerie?” Eichi asks, his eyes locked on Ritsu’s. “Do I need to worry about that? Demons I’m accustomed to, but anything fae is…questionable.”

 

“Ecchan,” Ritsu says, mildly delighted in his choice of favorites, “knows _way_ more than he’s supposed to. That’s kinda sexy.”

 

Eichi smiles innocently, which looks _startlingly_ effective, he knows. “Do you really think, Ritsu-kun,” he hums, running his thumb along the curve of Ritsu’s jaw, “that a human like me could _stand_ not knowing more than enough?”

 

Ritsu shoves Eichi back onto the bed, climbing up to straddle him, sitting across his hips. “Agree,” he demands, voice ringing in something like an incantation. “Agree to serve only me, to take my power, to change the world as my tool and the object of my adoration, and I will change you into a creature to be feared.”

 

Eichi has spent his life skirting the edges of the Underworld, but when all of his research about Ritsu proves true, when he can hear and feel every bit of power brimming behind a demon this powerful so close to him, that’s something different.

 

_The Snow Woman. Real pale skin, likes to eat yakuza._

 

Ritsu’s mother, the Demon Queen Airi, sounds like someone even he can crush with this kind of power.

 

“I agree.” He reaches up, grabbing at the front of Ritsu’s shirt, his eyes wild and a smile on his lips. “I’m yours, give me your power.”

 

A smart vampire would wait. A smart vampire would go through the proper channels, file a request with his Watcher, and petition his mother or Queen for the permission to take a proper favorite.

 

Ritsu doesn’t feel like being a smart vampire right now.

 

He breathes out, then in, trying to remember everything he’s learned about how to take a favorite, and leans in to drink from Eichi’s carotid artery, for once accessing his second set of venom sacs, the one he always tries so _hard_ to restrain.

 

The strange, tingly numbness that comes from being bitten isn’t anything new at this point, but this is much _more_. Eichi shudders, his fingers compulsively tightening as they curl into Ritsu’s shirt, dragging him closer even as his head falls back, letting him drink to his heart’s content. It would be easy to just lie back and let him drink until there’s nothing left, dying like this would at least be interesting…

 

Ahh, but he has a _world_ to conquer now.

 

The ever-present tightness in his chest seems to slip away, and Eichi shivers from the strange thrill that rakes down his spine at that realization alone. His fingers claw around to Ritsu’s back, sinking in against his spine. “You’ve always made me feel more alive, Ritsu-kun,” he rasps. “This…this isn’t anything new.”

 

Ritsu finishes drinking, pulling back shakily when his heart gives a little skip. He shivers, then strikes fast, sinking his teeth into his own wrist, holding it up for Eichi. “Drink,” he whispers. “You have to finish it. We have to do this whenever you feel it running out.”

 

Eichi stares up at him for a moment, glassy-eyed and content before he lurches up, grabbing Ritsu’s wrist and dragging it to his mouth. It’s just strange and morbid enough to make him groan, and slurping on the blood that drips from Ritsu’s wrist makes heat coil in his belly, low and eager. It doesn’t even _taste_ like blood, sharp and coppery—it’s thicker, sweeter, _odd_.

 

Ritsu’s eyes lid, and he lets Eichi drink more than one mouthful before pulling his wrist away, licking it to start the healing process. “Ecchan is a natural,” he breathes, watching Eichi’s pallor change, more color than he’s ever seen in his cheeks. “How d’you feel?”

 

“…Is this what normal humans feel like?” Eichi laughs, his breath hiccuping as he does. Ritsu is the wrong person to ask, of course, but hopefully it isn’t too much of an insult to feel _normal_ when he’s certain any other human would feel _invincible._ To him, it’s all the same. His eyes lid, and he grabs for Ritsu once more, tugging him down. “It feels good,” he breathes. “Really good. Ritsu-kun, being able to breathe is nice, you know?”

 

“It’s pretty okay,” Ritsu agrees, amused at the way Eichi is acting. Yeah, this is gonna be fun. Definitely the right choice. Out of curiosity, he grabs a pen from the bedside table, handing it over. “You’re usually pretty weak, right? I bet you could snap that pen.”

 

“Usually I can’t even stick a straw through a juice box,” Eichi cheerfully admits, flopping back as he takes the pen from Ritsu’s grasp. He flips it around, contemplative, and tries to snap it in half. It’s a surprise that it bends at all, and that takes effort, but—“Well, it’s a start! Ritsu-kun _maybe_ didn’t know the extent of how sick I am—was? Who knows.”

 

Ritsu scowls, suddenly grumpy. “This is bullshit, I’m powerful. My mom’s a _Queen_ , you know. You should be able to jump a single-story building.”

 

“Is that how it usually works?” To be fair, Eichi is still impressed with the fact that he can _breathe_ normally. “Hmm. You _did_ pick someone knocking on death’s door. Maybe a couple more sessions will help?” He tilts his head back, contemplative. “Or maybe Ritsu-kun really isn’t the heir for a reason…hard to believe, considering your brother’s temperament.”

 

Ritsu’s expression turns sullen, and he rolls off of Eichi, folding his arms over his chest. “I have the best taste. I chose someone smart, with plans, and not just some brawny dude to be my champion. I assume you have plans.”

 

“Oh, of course I have plans.” Eichi slowly sits up, entertained by the ease at which his body responds, and snuggles up behind Ritsu, arms slipping around his waist. “I’m goading you,” he teases. “Are you telling me you can’t make me even stronger? Mmn, not that it matters much. I’m smart enough that it won’t matter. Ahh, but it would be funny to be able to princess carry Wataru out of the blue…”

 

Ritsu huffs, but leans back against Eichi, snuggling a little. Eichi sure feels a lot _warmer_ , and less like he’s going to die, which Ritsu thinks of as a good thing. “I dunno,” he says truthfully. “I think it gets concentrated, the more you do. Like, the longer we’re this way. Kind of high-maintenance, but also kinda fun.”

 

“Then I’ll start by princess carrying Keito, he’s scrawnier.” Eichi turns his face to nuzzle into Ritsu’s neck, pushing aside his hair to plant a kiss there. “This _all_ sounds fun to me. I didn’t know it involved blood drinking on my end, but that’s not bad at all. And personally…I like how you showed up and assumed I had already found out _everything_ about your family from your one little hint. I’m sure you’ll fill in the blanks for me later, as needed.”

 

“Wasn’t just one hint,” Ritsu murmurs, yawning now that he’s happily made his terrible decision. “You said that if Mom was gone, Rei would be in charge. No one’s supposed to know that she’s in charge, Ecchan.”

 

“You’d be surprised how much I know.” _But there still are a number of things I don’t, and you’re my ticket._ Eichi tightens his arms around him, dragging him firmly back against him. “Mmn, Ritsu-kun,” he sighs, kissing behind his ear. “Thank you. You’re a good boy, you know?”

 

“Pretty sure that depends who you ask,” Ritsu says through a yawn. But Eichi is cuddling him like he’d care whether Ritsu lived or died, so that’s definitely kind of new.

 

A sudden wave of melancholy sweeps through him. His brother is an _asshole_ , cruel and controlling when he feels like it, and his mother is vastly worse. Ritsu reaches down, grabbing one of Eichi’s hands with a firm grip, sniffing hard. “You can’t leave me. That’s the rule.”

 

“Why would I leave you?” Eichi asks with a dismissive laugh, squeezing Ritsu’s hand back in turn. “Ritsu-kun, you’re a good boy, and I like you. You haven’t given me a reason to go anywhere but closer to you.”

 

“Dunno. I’ll probably give you a reason, I guess. Everyone leaves.”

 

“How negative of you. Mm, my rule for you is to think positively, or else.” Eichi pinches Ritsu’s side. “How about you let me decide _if_ I’ll ever get fed up, huh?”

 

Ritsu squeaks. “Careful,” he mutters, wiping his eyes now that the melancholy has started to pass. “You’re stronger than you used to be, you gotta be gentle with me, Ecchan. I’m cute, and Hasukkun kicked me around with his stupid spells.”

 

“Aww, he’s too mean, I’ll scold him for that later,” Eichi tsks, softening his touch with a rub of his thumb down over the jut of Ritsu’s hip bone. “I’ll give you one of my family’s passes, then you can come and go as you please,” he murmurs, tightening his arm around Ritsu’s waist to pull him more firmly back against him. “It would be silly for my Patron not to have access to me whenever he wants it.”

 

“If you didn’t give me a pass, I’d make you come live with me,” Ritsu mutters. Having a favorite isn’t exactly like he’d pictured. He’d pictured himself a lot more in control, for one thing, but...well, he hadn’t liked that idea much, which is why he’d waited to pick one. “Oh. If you tell Hasukkun, he’ll probably tell his dumb brother. We’ll both get in trouble, I bet.”

 

“I’m not going to tell him that you’re my Patron—I’m just going to tell him to be nice.” Eichi nuzzles up the back of Ritsu’s neck. “Besides, I have enough dirt on Keito that he wouldn’t say a word even if he did know what we were up to.”

 

“Plus, he’s in love with you.”

 

Eichi laughs outright at that. “He’s in love with any guy that gives him attention for more than five minutes. It’s pathetic, really.”

 

“Isn’t he your best friend?” Ritsu asks, grinning a little. Eichi is mean, which he doesn’t hate. Hell, he kind of loves it.

 

“Just because he’s my best friend doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s pathetic,” Eichi hums. “I don’t see the point in sugarcoating it, either. He’s also just not my type at _all_ , and he’ll never confess, so what’s the point?”

 

“Yeah, boring,” Ritsu agrees. “And dumb. He should sack up if he wants to get anything good in life.” He huffs, grabbing for one of Eichi’s fine lavender-stuffed pillows, kneading his nails into it. “He’s in love with my brother, too.”

 

“Ah, yes, so I’ve observed.” Eichi’s eyes nearly roll out of his skull at that, and he rolls, flattening Ritsu onto his stomach. “Don’t destroy my pillows. It’s funny to watch Keito flail around your brother, and I’ll be using that to my advantage.”

 

“Hoof.” All of Ritsu’s breath leaves very quickly when Eichi rolls onto him, and he lays flat, cheek pressed to the pillow. “Nnn....Ecchan is so mean...maybe if I play dead he’ll be nice to my corpse...”

 

“You can play dead. I’ve always wondered if I could get off to that.”

 

Ritsu blinks. “Weird. Wanna try? I’ve never done that.” He goes limp, eyebrows raised.

 

“Not for the _first_ time we do it,” Eichi protests. He pushes himself up onto his elbows, amused. “Is sex regularly part of the whole Patron arrangement? Because I can get behind that.”

 

“Uh...I have no idea?” Slowly, Ritsu turns his head around to stare up at Eichi. “My mom has sex with her favorites, but she does it with anyone that she’s planning on eating later.”

 

Eichi’s eyebrows climb. “Uh huh. And are you planning on eating me later?”

 

“I dunno. Maybe you’ll taste really good.”

 

“Not allowed. I have too much to do to be _eaten._ ”

 

Ritsu pouts. “I wasn’t planning on eating you, but now I want to. You’re already a bad favorite.”

 

“How am I a bad favorite? You’re a Patron that doesn’t even know the answer to half the things I ask.” Eichi steals another pinch, to Ritsu’s ass this time. “You’re going to work on that, riiight?”

 

“Why are you pinching?” Ritsu whines, slapping at Eichi’s hands. “Can you seriously not think of any better way to touch me? Yes, fine, sure, sex is _totally_ part of it, so hurry up and sex me.”

 

“It’s because you’re cute when you complain.” Eichi leans down, sneaking a nip to the curve of Ritsu’s ear. “And when I was petting you nicely, you tried to start crying. I want you to feel good, not be upset.”

 

“I wasn’t upset because you were petting me. I was upset because everyone is mean to me and so is Ecchan.” Ritsu rucks up his own shirt, splatters of blood on the fabric giving way to reveal totally healed flesh. “Make me feel good, it might make the process faster and make you more powerful. Who knows?”

 

Instead of giving Ritsu any more opportunities to complain, Eichi simply bends down, sinks his fingers into Ritsu’s hair, and hauls him up into a hard kiss.

 

It isn’t as if they haven’t kissed before—they have, on many occasions, but this is deliberate and insistent, not kisses that deliberately go nowhere. He sucks on Ritsu’s lower lip, sliding up between his spread legs, and strangely savors the taste of his own blood on Ritsu’s tongue.

 

Ritsu usually looks forward to Eichi’s kisses; they’re sweeter and more teasing than the ones he gets from his brother, highlighting all the differences between what he’d just thought were _kisses_ and what he now knows are _Rei’s_ kisses. This is different, and makes Ritsu lean in, letting Eichi’s hands wander all over him, savoring the weight of Eichi’s body against his back, grabbing at Eichi’s shirt to drag him closer. He nips at Eichi’s lip, fingers digging into his shirt until his nails pierce the fabric. “You gonna keep going this time?” he breathes, eyes alight, all hints of sadness and anger faded.

 

Ritsu is certainly a _moody_ little thing, isn’t he? Eichi knows it already, but it’s highlighted all the more right here, when a few kisses are all it seems to take to perk him right back up again. “Are you going to keep being sweet?” he lowly teases, giving Ritsu’s ass a gentle swat. “Mm, turn over. I want your arms around me.”

 

An evening like this should be savored, not rushed, after all.


	8. Chapter 8

“Both of you, sit down.”

 

The Demon Queen, Sakuma Airi, is a whirlwind when angry. In this case, draped in the black and purple nishijin silks of her yukata, the waterfall of her hair done up and pinned with antique, handcrafted kanzashi, it’s more startling than when she’s in scratchy black lace and high heels, because she _looks_ softer and nicer than Rei knows their mother to be—but she talks more sharply, and moves even faster.

 

A festival at night had been a treat for them, and an incredibly rare one, at that. Their mother only decided in the past _year_ that they were fit for society, and even then, being brought out into the human world is still something that only occurs at night, away from the shock of the sun. Even the candles lit within the temple room that Airi stows them in right now make Rei’s eyes water if he stares at them for too long, and he reaches a hand up to comb his bangs over his eyes, giving Ritsu the preferred protection of a kimono sleeve draped over his face.

 

“Play with their son while I report this,” Airi snaps—‘this’, being the strange, pretty scary death of their Watcher that they’ve only really met half a dozen times before. Rei hadn’t seen it, but he’d _felt_ it (the sudden surge of magic, the aftermath, the scent of blood), and it makes him flick his gaze skeptically up at his mother.

 

“But—“

 

“Not _now_ , Rei.”

 

Sakuma Rei, age nine, knows by now that ‘not now’ means ‘never’, and he purses his lips as his mother stalks out of the room, leaving him and his little brother alone with the youngest son of the Hasumi temple household, a family of Watchers that has _apparently_ served them for years and years and years.

 

Hasumi Keito, age eight, looks up at the new arrivals. He kneels on the tatami mat in one of his temple’s private rooms, with a pot of ink, a stack of papers, and a few accessories carefully placed in front of him. His glasses, too-large for his face, make his eyes look enormous, and he blinks owlishly as he bows over the papers. “Hello. You must be the Princes. Hasumi Keito, at your service.”

 

Sakuma Ritsu flops down on the tatami mat, and paws at one of the papers. “Whatcha drawin?”

 

Keito tries to grab for the paper, but Ritsu is too fast, and he fidgets nervously. “It’s--it’s just practice,” he mumbles, carefully capping the ink. “I’m doing calligraphy.”

 

“That’s not calligraphy. Onii-chan, look, it’s a pretty lady. Like Mom.”

 

“Ritsu, don’t take other people’s things,” Rei chides, flopping onto his knees and shuffling closer to try in vain to pull Ritsu back. His too-long hair (in his opinion, bleck) keeps falling into his face, and he spares a glance at the shut door again to make sure his mother isn’t there before surreptitiously pulling out a hairband from the inside of his yukata’s pocket to tie it back. He peers more alertly at Keito now, his brilliantly red eyes far too large for his face, and then steals a glimpse at Keito’s artwork before removing it from Ritsu’s grasp and handing it back. “You’re really good at drawing. I’m Rei, this is Ritsu.”

 

“Pleased to meet you,” Keito says politely, and takes the picture with careful, pale hands, laying it flat to dry. It isn’t very good, but it’s better than his last attempt, at least. “Is Uncle Masayoshi coming with you? He’s your Watcher, right?”

 

“Nah. He’s dead,” Ritsu says through a yawn, and curls up on the floor, resting his cheek on Rei’s thigh.

 

“He died,” Rei agrees as he rests a hand atop Ritsu’s hair, petting it slowly. “Our mom’s here to tell people about it. Are you a Watcher, too?” He leans closer, sniffing at Keito. “You smell like your uncle did. Like incense. And…horses?”

 

Rei and Ritsu are certainly weird, but Keito has seen weirder things. He pushes his glasses up, critically taking in the look of the two little princes, seeing the swirl of residual energies through his enchanted lenses. The creatures swarming around their area are too numerous, and even a child like himself has to take care not to put his foot into anything dangerous. “I’m gonna be a Watcher someday,” he says firmly. “I’m in training. Mm, my friend has a horse, I take care of him on our property, he doesn’t have enough time.”

 

“That’s cool. Mom won’t let me have a pet, even though she has a really stupid dog,” Rei complains, even though he’s now thoroughly distracted by the way Keito smells. He scoots a little closer in spite of himself, pulling Ritsu with him so that he can keep petting him. “You smell better than your uncle, though.” He licks his lips. “Type A, right? I’m hungry.”

 

Keito frowns, and warily rests his fingers on the hilt of his bamboo fan, tucked into his waistband. “Uncle Masayoshi was really strong. Dad said he liked fighting so much he should be a yamabushi. If you sit still, I’ll draw you.” Most people, he’s found, like being drawn.

 

“He died, though,” Rei points out, his head tilting. “Mom says it’s because all the Watchers were being slack and assigned just one guy to the two of us because no one else is ready yet. She’s mad. Ahh, I don’t wanna get locked up all the time again…” he laments, slumping forward and planting a hand on the tatami mat as he leans closer to Keito. “I can’t sit still when I’m hungry, let me bite you.” He doesn’t wait so much as he immediately takes a snap at one of Keito’s wrists.

 

Keito moves faster than he’d expected himself, grabbing the fan and snapping it in between Rei’s teeth. “You have to behave,” he scolds, then pats Rei on the head. “You’re too important to be so bad, you know?”

 

“Whoa,” Ritsu says sleepily, watching the deft manipulation of his older brother. “Cool.”

 

Rei growls, and bites down out of spite, gnawing on the fan to no avail. He draws back after a moment of sulking, and lifts a hand to prod at one of his fangs with one finger—tiny, razor sharp, and entirely useless as they’re loose and wobbly, on the verge of falling out to be replaced with adult teeth. “I’m _hungry_ , though,” he grumpily complains. “You smell good, that’s not fair.” He nudges Ritsu. “Is this what you were talking about with Isara? How he smells good all the time?”

 

“I’m gonna eat Maa~kun,” Ritsu agrees through a yawn, nuzzling into his brother’s knee. “Mom needs to give him to me like a present.”

 

“People aren’t presents,” Keito says, and leans in, morbidly curious about Rei’s teeth. “Did that hurt?” he asks, a little nervously. “They look loose, are you okay?”

 

Rei stares back at him, then lunges again, snapping his teeth and narrowly missingKeito’s nose. “They’re good-for-nothing baby teeth, need to hurry up and fall out already,” he grouses, nudging the looser one of the two fangs with his tongue, and adds, talking around that action: “I wan’ teef like Mom’s.” Shifting restlessly, Rei spares another glance at the door, then back to Keito as he curls a hand through Ritsu’s hair. “Uggh, I’m so hungry, your uncle didn’t feed us before he died. D’you know who’s gonna be our Watcher now? Isara’s still in training, it can’t be him.”

 

“I made ‘em train Maa~kun,” Ritsu says seriously, rolling away from Rei now that he’s moving around, curling up in the corner. “Don’t be noisy, okay?”

 

Keito scoots forward, then puts his hands on Rei’s cheeks, squishing them gently, but firmly together, making his mouth gape like a fish. “You’re gonna be a menace when your big teeth come in. You gotta be good, or they’re gonna think Uncle Masayoshi was spoiling you and make you go far away.”

 

Keito grabbing his face like that takes Rei so off-guard that he just blinks for a moment, too stunned to even take a bite out of him. “No one’s gonna make me go ‘way,” he whines, lurching against Keito’s hold and finally trying to bite at his wrist again. He doesn’t try that hard, admittedly. It’s pretty easy to tell that Keito’s a particularly weak, flimsy human, and being too rough would get them both in trouble. “I’m good! Your uncle was mean and grumpy and no fun, he wouldn’t even listen to me practice. You could let me bite just a _little_ , I won’t tell.”

 

Keito holds on as tightly as he can. What little strength he has is in his fingers, courtesy of his drawing and archery practice, and he manages to hold firm to Rei’s face. “If I hold you like this, you can’t bite me. You seriously can’t bite anyway, so it’s way too early for you to get hooked. You’ll get hurt. It’ll rip your teeth out, and make you easy prey for humans. Didn’t Uncle tell you about that?”

 

Rei glowers at him. “They’re already tryin’ to fall out anyway,” he huffs, tugging against Keito’s hold. “Lemme go. I just want to taste a human _once_ , I don’t think that’s bad. Mom’ll kill anyone that tries to hurt us, anyway.” Rei is pretty sure that Masayoshi isn’t the only creature that died tonight.

 

Rei looks like the kind of boy that has been lied to a lot. Keito knows the look by now, in houses that are a lot less Buddhist than his own. The parents tell stories about Santa Claus, about instant karma, about their child being the bravest and smartest and most interesting in the whole world, about their child being safe from everything that could happen. Rei clearly believes a lot of these lies. Keito may only be eight years old, but that’s old enough to know how much trouble Rei might get into in the future if no one is watching him. “What do you usually eat?” he asks, releasing Rei’s face. “I know they don’t let you feed from humans until you’re of legal age.”

 

Rei sits back, eyeing Keito’s wrists with heavy interest for a moment longer before prying his gaze away with a long, heaving sigh. “Our mom feeds us,” he sullenly answers. “But I’m hungry _all_ the time now, and she gets annoyed when I keep asking, even though I don’t bite hard like Ritsu does. She said the same thing, that I’m too little to eat from humans, but I think that’s stupid. I’m gonna be ten in November and I can already play a _lot_ of Mozart from memory, I think I could drink from a human.”

 

Keito’s head tilts, eyes widening slightly. “Mozart? On piano, or flute? I play the flute, just a little.” That last part is said very quietly, as if he’s afraid that someone is listening to him and judging him.

 

Hunger is pretty easy to forget about when music comes into the question, and Rei perks up, leaning forward eagerly. “Really? I haven’t tried learning the flute yet, but I bet it’s fun. I mostly play violin and piano, I’m good at it. Ritsu says it’s because I’ve got spider fingers.” He holds out his hands, wriggling the long, pale fingers in question.

 

Keito grabs one of Rei’s hands, turning it over in his own, feeling the cool of the older boy’s fingers, as if he isn’t quite alive. “They don’t look like spiders. I wanna draw them sometime, is that okay?”

 

“They’re weird and spidery,” Rei insists, grabbing Keito’s hand back to press them properly together to let him see exactly how much longer his fingers are. “Look, see? You can draw them if you want, but I think you should draw Ritsu’s instead, he has pretty hands.”

 

A deliberate snore comes from Ritsu’s corner, the only indication that he isn’t completely asleep, and Keito pushes up his glasses. Power glows under Rei’s skin, but it’s erratic, sporadic, barely contained by a single traveling thread of gold spellwork, tracing its way around his shoulders. Even that one is fading now, unraveling after his uncle’s death.

 

Keito pulls back, frowning a little, rubbing his own hands together. “You’re probably not gonna get a new Watcher for a while,” he admits. “My brother’s not old enough yet, he’s not out of school or training. They’re gonna have to bring back my great-aunt Hikiko, but she’s overseas. I bet you’ll get lots of time to practice, she only travels by boat.”

 

Rei’s face falls. “That’s not fair. I like being able to go out. I mean, the sun is no fun, but stuff like this at night is different. Didn’t you say you were going to be a Watcher? Why can’t you do it?”

 

“I’m eight.”

 

“So? You seem pretty good, you got a fan in my mouth and everything. I got my teeth on your uncle a few times and he couldn’t stop me.”

 

Keito straightens his back a little with pride, a little smile trying to start on his face. “You really think--”

 

He cuts himself off when footsteps sound softly outside, and he moves swiftly, burying his sketches at the bottom of his calligraphy pile half a second before the shoji door slides open, revealing a thin man in his late middle age with a trimmed beard and receding hairline, wire-rimmed spectacles perched on his straight nose. He looks down at Keito, who immediately bows low. “Keito-kun, don’t let me stop you from practicing.”

 

“Yes, Grandfather,” Keito says obediently, dipping his brush in the ink again, carefully moving through the characters for _patience_.

 

Hasumi Masaaki kneels gracefully, hakama hardly whispering against the tatami mat as he looks down at Rei. “Sakuma-sama. Your next Watcher has been contacted. Until she arrives, you will be confined to a warded area of protected property for your own safety. Your mother has been notified. If you’d like to say goodbye to her and your brother, take your chance now.”

 

Rei isn’t known for his tantrums. That’s Ritsu, always Ritsu, because the only thing that typically ever gets Rei close to upset is being interrupted when he’s busy learning a new piece on violin.

 

But he’s hungry. And he’s tired, and he’s more than a little upset at the idea that he’s not only going to be _confined_ again, but away from Ritsu, who _has_ a Watcher in training, and it’s not fair that he has to wait, and he’s _hungry_ …

 

“I’m not going.” Rei clambers to his feet, all awkward knees and elbows, trying not to trip on his yukata as he does. “It’s not fair and you can’t make me. Why do I have to wait for another Watcher when Keito can do it?”

 

“Keito?” Masaaki looks sharply at his grandson, who freezes guiltily. “Keito, did you tell Sakuma-sama that you were finished with your training? He isn’t. He’s just trying to make himself sound important. This is about those silly stories you write, isn’t it? Hand over your papers.”

 

Keito’s stomach sinks. He hands over his papers, then immediately folds into a dogeza, forehead to the floor as they rustle. “I’m sorry, Grandfather, I--”

 

“Writing this nonsense when you should be practicing--my apologies if he has been bothering you with this rubbish, Sakuma-sama. Your Watcher will be far more disciplined.”

 

“I don’t _want_ another Watcher, I want Keito!” Now he _can’t_ stand down and behave, not now that he’s gotten Keito in trouble, too. Rei resigns himself to that, and promptly throws himself on the floor, latching onto whatever part of Keito that he can get his arms around. “Ritsu gets a Watcher that’s still in training, why can’t I have one like that?”

 

“Rei-chan! I can hear your wailing across the temple, quiet down!”

 

The sharp snap from his mother makes him flinch, but that doesn’t stop Rei from clinging to Keito and huddling up against him, baring his fangs. The look on Sakuma Airi’s face when she pokes her head in says that it has all the effectiveness of a tiny kitten arching up and hissing, but that doesn’t stop Rei from trying. “Oh, good grief. Masaaki, I thought you had this handled. Or is your family incompetent in _every_ direction tonight?”

 

“And I thought you had raised a respectful son,” Masaaki says sharply, raising up to his feet, glaring at her. “Instead, I find this churlish boy who’d rather have a _child_ as his Watcher than a safe and comfortable--”

 

“I’ll do it.”

 

Keito knows he’ll be punished for this later--he might only be allowed inside and to put down the buckets after dawn tomorrow--but he’d be so mad if he didn’t at least _try_. He stands, stepping in front of Rei, drawing himself up as tall as his eight years can manage, firming his chin. “I’ve been studying. I can be his Watcher.”

 

For a long, tense moment, Rei is terrified that his mother is going to stalk over, _literally_ bite Keito’s head off, and drag him and Ritsu both from the room, kicking and screaming through the pool of blood. Instead, Airi snorts, drumming her long nails against her arms, and brushes past Masaaki to better stare Keito down. “You’re a stupid little boy that wants to die,” she bluntly says. “Your uncle died. You know how strong he was, don’t you? Are you ready to die like that for my child?”

 

“ _Mom_ ,” Rei frantically whispers, _very_ convinced that the more she says, the more likely Keito will change his mind.

 

“Be quiet.” She leans forward, coming closer to Keito’s height. “He’s more important than you’ll _ever_ be. If your magic fails you, you’re a meat shield, understand?”

 

Keito feels the telltale frizzing behind his eyeballs that means he’s about to faint, and frantically tamps it down. Now is _not_ the time to faint, not if he’s going to impress the Empress of Darkness currently flashing her teeth in his face, smelling of blood and shadows. He clenches his fist as tightly as he can, feeling small knuckles pop, and looks her in the eye, gulping down his fear. “Yes, Your Majesty. I won’t fail you.”

 

Masaaki’s mouth thins, but if Airi accepts the boy, there’s little he can do. Maybe Keito will at least buy him time to train someone else up properly. “Fine,” he snaps irritably. “By the time he’s dead, Hikiko will be back from Guam. Airi, let’s speak outside.”

 

Airi’s eyes slit as she stares at Keito for another, long moment before straightening and whirling away, stalking away with a shrug. “I don’t care if he dies so long as my heir remains in one piece. Go on, go on, let’s hear your worries, I’ll humor them for a moment.”

 

The door to the room slides shut with a resounding _thunk_ , and Rei heaves an aching sigh of relief that makes him slump down entirely to the floor, faceplanting. “I can’t believe that worked,” he whimpers. “Your grandpa’s so _mean_ , why’s he gotta be like that…”

 

The situation is finally too overwhelming, and Keito’s mind fritzes out, leaving him blank except for a static buzzing sound, eyes staring emptily at the closed door.

 

Rei stays on the floor for a moment before he realizes Keito hasn’t replied, and he lifts his head, watching Keito curiously. He sniffs, smelling the weird way that Keito’s blood slows, and slowly, he crawls closer, poking at Keito’s ankle.

 

That doesn’t get him a response, so that leaves Rei only with one other option. He nudges up the bottom hem of Keito’s hakama, and chomps down onto his ankle.

 

Keito claps a hand over his mouth, stifling a yelp in the quiet night air. The world slowly starts to fade back into focus, and he looks down, startled. “R-Rei-sama? Why are you biting me? I mean, like that? You can’t do that, you’ll hurt your teeth on the bones!” Already his voice sounds more like fretting than scolding.

 

“Still draws blood,” Rei announces when he pulls back, gingerly dislodging himself and licking his lips to get a taste of the meager amount of blood he _did_ manage to draw. That one fang is looser still, and he scowls, reaching up to wiggle it with one finger. “Worth it, you taste good. Don’t call me -sama.”

 

“I’m supposed to, though.” Keito kneels, grabbing Rei’s hand and pulling it away from his mouth. “You gotta stop, you’re gonna hurt yourself. What are you gonna do if you bite something to loosen it and it splinters? You’re important, you have to be careful.”

 

“But…don’t you have to do what I say now?” Rei’s eyes gleam at this sudden realization. “My mom said you can be my Watcher, so that means you _are._ So, no ‘Rei-sama’, just Rei. I bet I can chew on you however I want now, too.”

 

Keito folds his arms, looking through his glasses, watching Uncle Masayoshi’s last thread unravel. “We’re busy. First I’m gonna make you some protection. Sit down, Rei.”

 

He starts pulling scrolls out of a box in the corner, laying them out so he can better see the calligraphy. “Besides, my _main_ job is making sure you don’t hurt other people, you know. Watchers don’t work for vampires.”

 

“Mom’s Watchers always do what she says,” Rei complains, flopping facedown again instead of sitting nicely in seiza like Keito undoubtedly expects. “Is it because she’s a girl? She wanted me to be a girl, that’s why she keeps my hair long and puts me in girl clothes and gave me a girl name, but I’m _definitely_ not one.”

 

“Girls are gross,” Keito announces, starting his careful calligraphy once he blesses the paper. He messes up once, and hurriedly smudges out the rest of the character before starting over. “I hope I don’t die. You’re not gonna like Great-Aunt Hikiko.”

 

“You’re not allowed to die, I don’t want some weird old lady to be my Watcher.” Rei props his head up on his arms, watching Keito through lidded eyes. “Your grandpa said something about you writing stories all the time, can I read them?”

 

Keito finishes his first omamori, blowing on it to dry. “Hold still, I’m putting on your protection. You gotta be safe.” He ties the paper to Rei’s shoulder, and watches a thick golden thread spring into existence.

 

“Whoa,” he breathes, giddy with the success. “It worked! Rei, it worked, I really--I did it!”

 

 _Watchers do this kinda thing all the time, though_ Rei wants to point out, but he bites his tongue, deciding it’s sort of not worth it. Keito seems really excited, after all. “Yep, it feels just like your uncle’s did, kinda itchy,” he says instead. “So are you gonna let me read your stuff?”

 

Usually, Keito gets nervous when someone (Eichi) asks to read his stuff. Right now, he’s so elated that he doesn’t even mind, standing easily from the ground. “Wait here.”

 

Less than a minute later, he’s back, with a few sketchbooks. “They have pictures, too. Want me to read them to you, or do you wanna...?”

 

Rei spares a glance over to Ritsu—passed out for real this time, uninterested and oblivious to drama, as per usual—and he pushes himself up into a real sitting position, knees creaking and cracking from some weird growing pains. “Gimme. Unless you wanna make sure I’m reading it in a certain way, then you can read it to me instead.”

 

Keito pushes over the stack, cheeks a little flushed with pleasure. “I hope you don’t hate them. I’ll make you some more safety while you read.”

 

“Okay.” Rei pauses, glancing at the omamori on his shoulder, then looks back to Keito. “Don’t put them on my other arm. I need it for violin.”

 

Keito almost protests that not dying should be more important than violin, but Rei seems to _really_ like violin. “Okay. I’ll make it work. Uh...I know there’s a bunch of mistakes in those, okay? I’m still, I’m still working on them.”

 

“Practice makes perfect,” Rei dismissively says, settling down with the first sketchbook. It’s not going to a festival, but it’s still pretty good, even if his stomach won’t stop rumbling. “You’re _really_ good already. I can’t draw anything, and my handwriting’s bad, the only thing I’m good at is writing down music note stuff. Your handwriting looks like it came out of a printer or something, that’s so cool.”

 

“I...” Keito pauses, finishing a delicate stroke and setting one paper aside to dry. Then he lowers his voice, as if someone is going to overhear and discipline him for it. “I want to be an artist, when I grow up.”

 

“Ehh, really? Can Watchers be things other than Watchers?” Rei asks curiously, briefly flicking his eyes up from his engrossed sketchbook reading. For someone that thinks girls are gross, Keito sure spends a lot of time drawing them. “That’s cool, though. I…” Rei hesitates, glancing over to Ritsu again to make _sure_ he’s still sleeping. “I wanna be a concert violinist—but Ritsu thinks it’s lame, so maybe not…”

 

“I’ve never seen a violin concert,” Keito admits, tying another piece of paper onto Rei’s chest. “Is it hard? Playing the flute is _really_ hard.”

 

“I don’t think it’s hard, but I practice a lot. If my violin was here, I’d play for you.” Rei pokes at the paper, then leaves it alone. “Maybe you’re not supposed to be a flute player. Strings are better, anyway.”

 

“Really? I think my grandpa has a shamisen. He’s scary, though, so I don’t ask if he plays it or anything.” Keito leans over, checking what page Rei is on. “Um, that one gets better later on.”

 

“It’s already pretty good. Let me borrow your glasses, my eyes hurt from reading,” Rei complains, reaching up to pull them off of Keito’s face. “You should learn shamisen. I bet I could teach you.” Rei knows absolutely _nothing_ about shamisen, but he can always figure it out.

 

Keito fumbles for Rei’s hand, but there’s no way for him to locate it without his glasses, so he sits back, helpless. “I can’t see without those. I can’t see people or magic, they help me.”

 

“…And I thought it sucked not being able to see when there’s lights on and stuff,” Rei grumbles, pressing them back into Keito’s hand with a sigh. “Fine, fine. You really can’t see magic? Humans are weird.”

 

“I can’t see _anything_. I’m just lucky that I have glasses I can put a spell on. I used to keep walking into the wards and stuff, so they let me have my spells early. Oh, wait a second.”

 

Keito scampers to the box of tools, and pulls out one of his father’s pairs of reading glasses. They’re too big, but it’s better than nothing. “Sorry they’re big. You can borrow one of my pairs if we ever go to my room and play, though.”

 

It’s good enough, and Rei flops back, content with this arrangement, even if he has to keep prodding the glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “If you can’t see magic without your glasses, then you can’t see the stuff floating around all the time, huh? That must be weird. Mom says little teeny demons and stuff are to us like bugs are to humans. I just figured Watchers could see them, too.”

 

“Some of them can,” Keito admits. “But it’s like...the really good ones. Not that I’m not good--I just mean it’s like, the old guys, the ones that put spells on themselves. I haven’t learned all about that yet, so I’ve got the glasses.”

 

“Ahhh. Well, it didn’t help your uncle out, anyway. Demons are good at pretending to be human.” Rei tilts his head back all the way to look at Keito. “When Mom takes us out, no one even knows we’re vampires, even other demons. I mean, we only go out at night, but that’s because Mom doesn’t want us to get crispy.”

 

Keito leans over, tying another paper on, watching the gold thread spring satisfyingly up. Even Uncle Masayoshi hadn’t put _this_ many protections on. Better make a few more. “I heard about your big sister. Dad said she was only out in the sun for ten minutes.”

 

Rei’s eyes roll back in utter weariness of this story. “Yeah. So Mom’s crazy about it forever now. Her Watcher wasn’t paying attention and she went in the sun and died. Personally, I don’t think it was the Watcher’s fault, it was my sister’s fault. She was dumb enough to go out in the sun, I don’t wanna do that.”

 

“She went in the sun without any _protection_ ,” Keito corrects. “I’m gonna...I’m gonna make it so you’ve got lots of protection, okay? So even if there’s an accident, you’ll be okay.”

 

“Okay. But I really don’t wanna go out in the daytime at all, I like sleeping.” Rei turns his head to look at Keito. “Don’t ever wake me up, I get cranky. But _really_ don’t ever wake Ritsu up, he gets mean.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Keito assures him, giving Rei’s shoulder a pat before returning to his calligraphy. “I’ll make sure you go to bed early and get a lot of sleep, so you’ll be less grumpy.”

 

“You’re supposed to be a cool Watcher because you’re a kid, too,” Rei complains, dropping Keito’s sketchbook onto his face as he flops entirely onto his back. “Less rules, more fun.”

 

Keito opens his mouth, then closes it again, cheeks flushed. “Sorry. I’ll try to be cool. Did...you finish it? Did you hate it? That’s the one about the tiger-lady, I know it’s kinda weird...”

 

“No, it’s good. I really like the way you draw hair. I’m trying to see if maybe some of your skills will go into me magically if I stay here like this.” Rei pulls the book off of his face slightly. “I already think you’re cool, just don’t be super strict and mean like your uncle or grandpa, okay? My mom yells at me enough already.”

 

“I mean, I’m eight,” Keito reminds Rei yet again, tying on another charm, this one protecting him against sunlight, now that they’re talking about it. “So I’ll try to think of ways to make you be good, because Grandpa says that’s the hardest part of being a Watcher. Mom says it’s the smell, though.”

 

Rei compulsively snaps at one of Keito’s hands, misses, and flops back down. “I’m good,” he defensively huffs. “I can’t help it that I get hungry, that’s the _only_ thing.”

 

“Um, _can_ you eat normal food?” Keito asks, unsure on this part. “I can get you a snack. But if you gotta have blood, I’ll go ask Grandfather.”

 

“We _can_ , but it’s not like it does much,” Rei laments, flopping to the side. He folds his borrowed glasses up, setting them down onto Keito’s sketchbook. “I like tomato juice. At least it’s red. But I’m still hungry after I drink it. You tasted good, you should let me bite you.”

 

“That’s rule one of the Watcher code, I think,” Keito says, and starts inking out another character. “Or at least top five? If you’re still here when everyone’s asleep, I’ll sneak out and get you some tomato juice, there’s a conbini pretty close.”

 

“That’s a pretty lame code.” Rei slowly drags himself across the floor, making his way to the pile of limbs and clothes that is Sakuma Ritsu. He has a better idea than tomato juice. “Ritsu. Ritsu, I’m dying.”

 

There’s a slow grunt, then a rustle of clothes, and Sakuma Ritsu throws his leg to the side, rucking up his kimono to expose his thigh. “Don’t wake me up, Onii~chan...”

 

Keito cocks his head, calligraphy paused. “You can drink from each other?”

 

“Shhh.” Rei holds a finger to his lips, flashing Keito a grin, then dives between Ritsu’s legs, nuzzling up the inside of one of his thighs.

 

Keito doesn’t have to know that drinking from each other isn’t _explicitly_ allowed…Rei is sure his mother knows, but she doesn’t scold them. Maybe she doesn’t because it means less of Rei begging to drink from _her_ , but whatever the case, she isn’t stopping them, and that means Rei sinks his teeth into the warm, thudding pulse of Ritsu’s femoral without remorse, only messing up a little because of that annoying, loose fang, and drinks with long, thirsty gulps the second blood flows.

 

Ritsu lets out a sleepy yawn that’s mostly fake, and lets his thighs splay, the other draping over his brother’s shoulders. It’s more comfortable this way, or so he’ll swear in court with a slow smile. “Greedy,” he complains, shoving a hand at Rei’s head. “You owe me later.”

 

Keito watches, fascinated, and starts making Ritsu a few omamori as well. From what he’s heard, Isara Mao’s training is fit in between school and sports and friends, without much rigor. It won’t hurt for him to be protected in the meantime.

 

Rei eventually pulls back, panting as he flops his head against Ritsu’s thigh. “I was really hungry,” he whines. “Mom doesn’t let me drink from her as much now, it’s not fair.” Now, at least, his skin is flushed and his eyes far less sunken and tired as he licks at the bite mark left behind, making sure it’s sealed with his saliva for proper healing. “Mmn, but Ritsu always tastes good…I feel better now.”

 

Ritsu kicks his brother away with another pointed yawn, flopping back onto his side. “Now you gotta let me sleep. I’m gonna do whatever I want later, Onii-chan, okay? Be sweet to me...”

 

“You two are....very close,” Keito manages, trying not to make a face at the idea of his own brother biting his thigh, but _yuck_.

 

“Whatever you want,” Rei agrees with an enthusiastic nod, petting Ritsu’s back for a moment before he rolls away, floppy and content. “Ritsu’s the best,” he dreamily says. “I love him a lot. We’re always together, so it’s good we really like each other, Mom says. She killed her sisters when she was really young.”

 

“Oh. I guess this would be better, then.” It still seems super gross to Keito, but his parents had been very clear when he was young: judging vampires for not being humans is a stupid idea, and he needs to be better at keeping his mouth shut, anyway.

 

He shoves a hand at Rei, with more strips of paper. “Here. Put them on him. I’m not his Watcher, so I’m not allowed, but he should have protection, too.”

 

Rei blinks, dangling the paper in front of his own face for a moment. “…You’re really nice,” he says, and scoots back over to Ritsu, gingerly affixing the omamori in question to Ritsu’s back. He nods to himself, satisfied, and he rolls himself away, flopping down across Keito’s lap next before he can be stopped, his own omamori fluttering. “You’re good. Thanks.”

 

Keito’s chest feels suddenly warm, and he blushes a little, ducking his head. “Just try not to be too much trouble, okay? Mom said I can have my own charcoal pencil set when I turn nine, so I wanna live that long at least.”

 

“I’ll be good. I just wanna play violin and sometimes piano and also go out at night once in awhile to eat ice cream.”

 

“I don’t have a piano,” Keito says, as if that’s the biggest issue.

 

Rei shrugs. “I have one at my house. You’ll just have to come over there sometimes.”

 

“I figured I would anyway.” It’s stupid, it’s too affectionate, but Keito rests his hand on Rei’s head, petting it gently. “We’re like partners, now.”

 

No longer hungry and now sated with pettings as well, Rei settles with those words, stifling a yawn and shutting his eyes. “You’re a _lot_ better than your uncle,” he sleepily mumbles. “Really good. I like you.”

 

“Then don’t make stuff too hard,” Keito suggests. “And we can stay like this. I dunno, forever.”

 

Eight and nine year olds don’t _really_ understand wishful thinking to that degree.

 

Admittedly, nine year old Sakuma Rei would have been pretty scared of the idea of sneaking out in the middle of the night and crawling through windows. Now, at age fourteen, he doesn’t bat an eye at it—at least, when it’s Hasumi Keito’s window.

 

There’s not a single omamori _visibly_ tied to him now—save for one on the inside of his jacket, but that doesn’t count—and Rei crawls in through the first story temple window more or less soundlessly, landing on the tatami-lined floor with only a minute _thump_ as he struggles to deal with too-long legs. He reaches back out the window, dragging his guitar case after him now that he’s inside, and neatly stashes it into a corner before crawling slowly over to Keito’s futon, then onto it.

 

“Psst. Pssssst, Keito.” Rei’s eyes gleam in the darkness, and he paws at the lump that is his Watcher, Hasumi Keito, waves of black hair falling around Keito’s face as Rei leans over. “Let me under, I’m cold.”

 

Keito’s nose twitches first, notifying him of things tickling his face, and he abruptly sneezes in Rei’s face before he really wakes up. Then he blinks rapidly, eyes adjusting to the darkness. “Rei? Are you--”

 

Then the situation starts to make sense, and he grits his teeth, throwing back his duvet. “You were out with those awful friends of yours, that band, weren’t you? Get in.”

 

Immediately, Rei dives under, and wipes his face off on Keito’s sleeve in his next breath. “Ahhh, so warm,” he sighs instead of answering, nestling up close, and slinging a leg over Keito to stay close. “Is it because you’re a Watcher? Or just because you’re _my_ Watcher? Aww, maybe you generate heat just for meee…”

 

“I’m more concerned by the fact that you’re measuring my body heat against someone else’s,” Keito says, eyes narrowed in concern. “Who’s been holding you other than me? I’m yours--your Watcher, I need to know.”

 

The pupils in Rei’s eyes slit, openly amused—and predatory. “Keito’s sounding _awfully_ possessive tonight.” He wriggles closer, nosing against the side of Keito’s neck. “Let me have a sip and I’ll tell you anything you want.”

 

“Absolutely not.” Keito raises up on one elbow, grabbing Rei’s face with strong fingers, squishing his cheeks. “You’ve been drinking from other people. I can see it even without my glasses. Honestly, you make me into this really strict person, I didn’t want to be this way, but you’re misbehaving so much lately!”

 

Rei tugs against Keito’s hold, then tries to lunge forward when that doesn’t work, snapping at him uselessly. Keito has a deadly grip these days, admittedly, but Rei also isn’t trying _that_ hard. He might like it when Keito grabs his face, just a little, especially when it means he can pout at him, just centimeters from _Keito’s_ face. “I’ve barely had a drink from anyone,” he complains, trying to twist his head and nip at Keito’s fingers again with now very strong, very sharp, very _permanent_ fangs. “It’s not the same as your blood, you’re the most _delicious_ —“

 

“You’ve been drinking from your bandmates,” Keito says, trying to sound disapproving rather than as worried as he really is. “They’re _gross_ , Rei. They’re not good, they’re just using you because you’re so much more talented than they are. What if they’re using drugs? You could get sick!”

 

“It’s _Japan_ , no one’s on drugs, unfortunately,” Rei crossly points out, tugging against Keito’s hold again. “I’m hungry and it’s not like I’m killing anyone or drinking from people who don’t want it, so who cares? Maybe if you let me drink from you more often, I wouldn’t _have_ to go snack on people you don’t like.”

 

Keito fumbles for his glasses, slapping them onto his face so he can better scowl at his charge, finally releasing Rei’s face to grab his fan. “Don’t talk like I’m being horrible by trying to get you to stop doing things that break your mother’s treaty. You _know_ what she’ll do to me if she finds out I let you drink before you turn eighteen.”

 

“So don’t let her find out,” Rei snidely retorts, running his tongue over his fangs as he eyeballs Keito’s fan. It’s an open challenge to see if he can get past the damned thing and get his teeth into Keito’s skin at this point. “Keitooo, I’m a growing boy. I have to eat somehow, and bagged blood is _disgusting._ ”

 

“You’ve been raised on it all your life,” Keito points out, fan up and at the ready. “You only started thinking it was gross when you started hanging out with that band. Why don’t you just wait until high school? You’re going to Yumenosaki, you’re going to be famous no matter what.”

 

“Taste buds change when people get older. Maybe I’ve developed an allergy. Take your pick, what makes you feel better about why I do it?” Rei’s eyes lid, and he waits for a split second longer before lunging, aiming for Keito’s otherwise uncovered neck.

 

The fan comes down fast, jamming the steel-reinforced bamboo between Rei’s teeth with lightning-fast precision. It bears many marks from Rei’s worst teething days, and the panels have been replaced multiple times when he’d broken through them, before Keito had figured out the steel insert trick. “Bad vampire,” he snaps. “Now you don’t get to drink at all tonight.”

 

Biting down is a reflex that Rei _hates_ ever since Keito figured out to put steel in that damned fan, and he grimaces, growling in the back of his throat before he pries his jaw open and slumps back. “That’s not fair,” he complains, reaching up to poke at one of his fangs, making sure it’s still in one piece after biting down into metal. “I thought we were playing. I’ll tell you everything, just let me have a little drink, please?”

 

Keito lowers the fan, reaching out to poke at Rei’s fang, making sure it’s still solidly affixed to his gums. Yes, it’ll hurt if he ever shatters one, but Keito has learned over the years that it’ll eventually grow back, though Rei will be an absolute misery until it does. “Talk now. You can have one afterwards, if I like what I hear.” At least he has something as a lure; apparently, no one’s blood tastes cleaner or fresher than his own, or so Rei has told him.

 

Rei bites down on another growl, moody and irritated, and he flops down, burrowing himself down further into the futon and stealing a good portion of the duvet. “It’s not like I drink from dozens of people,” he grouses. “ _That_ would be gross. I just nipped at one of the guys in my band, like you said. We were making out, and I bit his tongue, and he liked it, so I bit him again. It’s not like they know I’m _real_ or anything, they just think I’m another weird kid taking his image a little further than they are.”

 

Keito nods, and finally sets the fan down. “All right. But it doesn’t make me any happier to think that you’re making out with him, either. I’m...”

 

He frowns, and sternly orders his heart to stop doing that stupid flip-floppy thing it does around Rei as well as Eichi the last couple of annoying pubescent years. “I’m supposed to protect your heart as well as your body, you know.”

 

At that, Rei rolls his eyes. “I don’t even _like_ him, I just felt like kissing someone,” he mutters. Sometimes, Keito is so obvious that it’s annoying. Does he forget that he can literally _hear_ the way his blood pumps differently when he’s embarrassed or worried or even turned on? _Probably_ , Rei’s mind dully points out, and he sighs, shoving his face down into the futon. “Maybe if _you’d_ make out with me, I wouldn’t have to do it with anyone dumb, but nooo…”

 

“Stop playing around.” Keito thins his mouth, trying not to fret so hard, trying not to nibble at his lips, and rolls up one sleeve. “You can have a little, all right? And then you can sleep here, but _only_ if you start being a little less cranky.”

 

Rei lifts his head, but only slightly, and he stares at Keito from underneath his lashes. “I wanna drink from your thigh.”

 

“I’m not your brother. It’s polite to take what you’re offered.”

 

“It’s my favorite spot to drink from, though. It feels good, I promise.”

 

Keito’s face flushes, and he turns to the side, knowing how well Rei can see in the dark. “But it’s so...intimate. You don’t like me that way.”

 

“Who says I don’t?” Rei sniffs. “Always putting words in my mouth. You just don’t wanna hike up your yukata for me. Mean.”

 

“I....it’s not _that_ , I just...”

 

Keito impotently flaps a hand, feeling decidedly embarrassed now. “I thought you were hungry. But you’re acting like something else. Besides, I have skinny legs.”

 

Rei’s head tilts. “So do I,” he points out, bemused, and he promptly dives underneath the duvet, grabbing for the end of Keito’s sleeping yukata to hike it up. “Spread your legs already, Watcher-sama.”

 

Keito fists his hand in Rei’s hair, cheeks red even if he tries to sound stern. “Four ounces,” he warns. “You can have that much, all right?” With a last hesitant motion, he lets his legs part, holding his yukata down between his legs for modesty.

 

 _That’s not a lot at all!_ Rei wants to whine reflexively, but instead, he decides to just enjoy the hand in his hair, idly tugging against it to feel the way Keito’s fingers pull. “Fine, fine,” he sighs, nuzzling against the inside of Keito’s thigh, mouthing over the thud of that quick, somewhat panicked pulse. That’s not strictly necessary; he knows where the artery is, has a _lot_ of practice by now, but it _is_ a lot more fun, and he can feel Keito squirm. “Thanks for the meal,” he hums, and Rei bites down, precise and careful about how he bites Keito, always, because that means he gets a proper taste of something equally delicious _and_ forbidden if he’s good.

 

Keito throws an arm over his eyes, hiding his face when Rei’s mouth descends. It always feels like _more_ than he expects, even if he knows full well what’s coming, and his leg jerks involuntarily, other hand relaxing in Rei’s hair, petting and stroking. “B-be good,” he urges, hoping it sounds as approving and affectionate as he means it, when his toes are wriggling and his breath is catching, heart fluttering in his chest.

 

If Rei told Keito it wasn’t _just_ the taste of his blood, but the way he _reacts_ that makes Rei want to drink from him all the time, he’d never, ever be allowed to again, he knows. 

 

Sinking his teeth into Keito’s flesh makes a sound like a purr well up in his throat, and it takes effort not to butt up into the touch on his hair when he’s got his fangs buried into Keito’s femoral artery. The taste that slides down over his tongue makes his eyes flutter shut, and he swallows, shivering at the warmth that spread through his limbs, making his fingers curl against Keito’s thigh where he grips it to hold him in place. _Four ounces, that’s it_ —not fair, it’s enough to make him crave even more, and it takes effort to draw back, licking at his bloodied lips, flushed and entirely pleased with himself. “Keeeitooo…you always taste so good…”

 

Keito bites down a whimper, his hand finally moving away from his face to grab Rei on a sudden impulse, dragging him up for a kiss.

 

This is stupid. He’s never gone this far in their intimacy before, never done something that’s _only_ affectionate rather than some of that mixed with authority, protection. Stupid, stupid, but he’s got to, leaning into the kiss, suddenly urgent, begging for Rei not to turn him away.

 

Rei freezes for an awkward moment, unsure (no one ever grabs _him_ to be kissed, he’s got to be the one to initiate!) and with a million and one residual worries about kissing Keito (how much trouble is he going to get Keito into, actually, if Keito grabbing his face ever actually turned into this?).

 

But Keito started it, Keito’s grabbing at him, so…

 

Rei slumps with relief, forgetting about his fangs in a hasty moment of _needing_ to kiss Keito back, and yelping when his own tongue slides against the side of one of them. He huffs, retracting them in a hurry, and lurches forward to eagerly kiss him back again, even if his mouth is bloodier now. “Keitooo,” he breathes, grabbing at the front of his yukata, worming up between his thighs.

 

“Wait, wait wait!” Keito pulls away, nerves fluttering like lunar moths in his stomach, wings battering the sides of his ribcage. His hands come up to grab Rei’s face--not to push him away, just to hold him at a safe distance for now while he catches his breath. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he gasps, emotions buffeting him from all directions. “I shouldn’t have done that, I--”

 

“Not fair, I want to,” Rei complains, surging against Keito’s hold in helpless compulsion. Keito’s blood is thudding _so_ fast now, with the smell of it driving him insane, and it makes it harder to listen to reason and stop. “Keito, I like you, kiss me again. I can make you feel good—did it get hard when I bit you? If you want, I can—“

 

“It always gets hard when you do that,” Keito says, and it sounds less like a protest, more like it’s full of longing. He looks away, unable to meet Rei’s eyes, and does something else stupid. “Screw it. Want to? I’m so--I’m so hard, Rei--”

 

Rei’s face lights up. “Wait, seriously?” It sounds too good to be true—is this a trick? Maybe this is some weird Watcher test for him, and Rei gnaws on his lower lip, suddenly wary. “You’re not going to punish me?” he carefully asks, grabbing for the bottom of Keito’s yukata again. “I don’t want you to hit me, I just wanna suck it.”

 

“I’d, I’d do just about anything to, to get you to, please, Rei, I’m only human, don’t make me beg,” Keito groans, yanking up his own yukata to expose how hard he is. It always gets that way, whenever Rei bites him; his first real erection had been courtesy of a wobbly misplaced fang, sending eleven-year-old him into a spiral of confusion, and it had only gotten worse in the few years since.

 

“Shit,” Rei mutters, licking at his lips. “Guess I don’t have a choice, huh.” If this is a test, he’s probably failing, but…he’s gotta take responsibility, right? Right.

 

He dives down between Keito’s legs again, and doesn’t waste time when it comes to getting his mouth on Keito’s dick. It’s _so_ hard that it has to hurt, with the head dripping and red, and Rei swipes his tongue over it, shivering at the salty, bitter taste that contrasts sharply with the sweetness of blood still on his mind. “Don’t worry,” he murmurs, “I’m good at this.” It’s the least he can do to be good at it, which is why he doesn’t hesitate to get his lips around Keito’s cock, an eager bob of his head letting it slide hard and sticky along his tongue.

 

Keito bites his own lip bloody, desperate to make this last, but he’d never anticipated Rei’s mouth feeling like _this_. It’s a strangled shriek when he comes within ten seconds, spurting wildly over Rei’s lips as his body trembles and spasms, back arching off the futon a solid several centimeters. “Rei,” he chokes, eyes squeezed tightly shut.

 

Rei desperately bites down a laugh, even as he swallows what ends up in his mouth and sits back to wipe away the rest from his lips. “Damn, I wish Ritsu was that easy,” he breathes, his eyes lidded as he sucks a finger clean. “He takes _forever._ Nn, you taste good, I bet you could go again.”

 

Keito turns his face, burying his head in his pillow. “God. How embarrassing, don’t look at me.”

 

“Why not? You’re blushing, it’s cute,” Rei teases, flopping down and slithering up against him, nuzzling his face into Keito’s neck. “Keitooo, don’t be shy _now_ , play with me.”

 

Keito’s mouth twists, and he wants to say, _This was a mistake,_ but his lips won’t form the words. He’s already in this far, so...

 

He moves his hands, plunging them down and taking hold of Rei’s cock, stroking firmly from base to tip, looking up at Rei’s face for some form of approval. “Like this?”

 

Rei’s mouth goes slack, his eyes fluttering as he nods. “Uh huh,” he breathes, reaching down to hastily unbutton his jeans, giving Keito’s hand more room to move. His cock twitches in Keito’s hand, his hips automatically moving forward in a slow, but insistent roll. “Like that. T-the same way you’d do your own. D’you…do you do that a lot?” His breath escapes hot and eager against Keito’s neck. “What d’you think about?”

 

Keito considers their positions for a moment, then lets go, sitting up and gathering Rei in front of him, his chest pressed to Rei’s back as his hand curls around the shaft. “I do it like this,” he breathes, hand twisting, squeezing at the head before he pumps hard, alternating every few strokes. “I think about...I don’t know. A lot of stuff.” _Eichi. You._

 

Rei groans, his head lolling forward. “ _Tell me_ ,” he whines, his eyes lidded and fixed on the way Keito’s hand moves along his cock. He fumbles for Keito’s other hand, dragging it up to his chest to where his nipples are hardened nubs, aching as they rub against his shirt. “I think about you sometimes.”

 

“I...think about you sometimes, too,” Keito confesses. He gives into Rei’s urging, pinching and rolling that hardened nub between his fingers, lowering his mouth to kiss Rei’s neck. “I...” His throat works, and he swallows hard. “I think about sex.”

 

“Fuck, you better,” Rei manages with a ragged laugh, his head tipping eagerly to the side. His breath hiccups, and he squirms back against Keito at the pinch to his nipple, his cock throbbing in his grasp, dripping stickily over his fingers. “Mnn, I think about…about you punishing me. Then fucking me.” Whoops. Turns out, a hand on his dick makes him run his mouth. “You’re hot when you act all in charge and stuff, I c-can’t help it…”

 

“Don’t encourage me,” Keito says with a low laugh, trying not to let his teeth rasp against Rei’s skin. It’s so much harder to tell Rei to behave if he’s not behaving himself, but...

 

But if Rei _wants_ him to...just once, what’s the harm?

 

He squeezes his hand hard, tugging at Rei’s nipple, fisting his cock harder. “Do as you’re told,” he orders, breath hot against that ear. “Behave yourself for your Watcher, Rei. Come for me.”

 

“Oh, shit,” Rei groans, clamping a hand over his mouth when he’s _sure_ he’s going to be too loud, and the whole house is going to come running, see how much they’re _both_ breaking the rules…

 

He comes with a whine, biting into his own hand, and shudders and trembles with every single pulse of his cock within Keito’s hand. It doesn’t help that his nipple feels attached to it as well, with each pinch shooting down his spine. He gulps, sagging back against Keito’s chest. “T…tell me again…why I’m not allowed to encourage you…”

 

Keito lays his chin on Rei’s shoulder, his lungs heaving, bones feeling about as weak as jelly. “Because it makes me break all the rules,” he says, voice sounding rather content for his words. “And you’ll expect special treatment in the future. Mm, was that any good?”

 

“ _So_ good.” Rei twists in his arms, far too energetic for someone that just had one hell of an orgasm—or perhaps, all the more energetic for it, his eyes gleaming and his face flushed as he throws his arms around Keito’s neck. “We should do this all the time.”

 

“Told you, you’ll expect this in the future,” Keito says grumpily, but it doesn’t sound very tough. He sighs, knowing just how incorrigible Rei can be, and reluctantly releases the older boy. “We’re not going to do it all the time. Sometimes, if you’re _really_ good. But there will be rules.”

 

“I can be really good.” If Rei were a dog, his tail would be wagging in slow anticipation. “I can follow rules. I mean, within _reason_ ,” he adds. “Don’t make me sit in seiza forever, I _hate_ that.”

 

“That’s not what I’m talking about, you loon,” Keito says with a long-suffering sigh. “I mean...there’s an iron-clad rule of Watchers that I have to be replaced if we’re in a romantic relationship. So we won’t be.”

 

“Oh.” Rei deflates. “Yeah…that would suck, I don’t want you to be replaced. Is that a thing _forever?_ Because that seems pretty unfair when I like you so much. And you get mad when I kiss other people, soo…”

 

“Don’t be dense on purpose, Rei.” Keito brushes sweat-damp hair back from his face, starting to get control of himself at last. “I can’t date you anyway. You should know why.”

 

“We could date in secret. I’m really good at making sure my mom doesn’t find out about things.”

 

“Rei...” Keito bites his own lip, feeling guilt twist in his stomach. “You know I’m in love with someone else.”

 

Ah. Right. It’s pretty easy to forget about that when Keito’s being sweet to _him_ , and making _him_ feel good. “Right, yeah. Sorry, I got too wrapped up in the moment.” Whoo, boy, it’s harder to be nice about it and smile and not punch a hole into one of Keito’s walls than he thought, and it’s harder still not to be upset enough not to remind Keito that _Tenshouin Eichi is a piece of shit that doesn’t care!_

 

Every warm, fuzzy feeling is gone now, though, and Rei pulls back, buttoning his jeans and hauling himself to his feet. “I’m just gonna head home. It’s going to be dawn soon, anyway, and your curtains suck.”

 

“You’d hate dating me.” The words are plaintive, Keito’s hands clenched into fists against his thighs. The sweat that had felt so warm (hot, slick, inviting) when they’d been rutting together feels too-cold on his skin now. “I’d tell you to stop drinking from anyone else. I’d want to know where you are all the time. I’d--they’d find out, they’d take me away from you anyway and you’d be stuck with Great-Aunt Hikiko.”

 

“Keito. I’m dropping it.” Being reminded that Hasumi Keito is _in love_ with Tenshouin Eichi reminds Rei of every other annoying, troublesome thing in his life, and it makes it excessively difficult to be the optimist, the _idealist_ , the one that cheerfully argues against all of Keito’s points and reminds him that he can make it work, that he wouldn’t mind it if Keito asked him where he was all the time (that’s why he runs off all the time, _obviously_ ), he _wishes_ he only had to drink Keito’s blood (he tastes better than anyone else!), he _wants_ a reason to escape and kidnap Keito and say _fuck it_ (even someone as traditional as Keito would like it overseas, Rei could make it happen).

 

But it sounds like a lot of work for no reward when Hasumi Keito is in love with Tenshouin Eichi, the heir to a human family that would rather poke and prod at demons to destroy or _eat them_ for all Rei knows, and a familiar, unhappily dark cloud of a mood settles over Rei’s thoughts as he shoulders his guitar with a wry smile. “If it makes it easier for you, you can forget this happened. I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”

 

A dozen protests die on Keito’s lips. Shame settles over his shoulders like a cloak, but he doesn’t bow his spine. It’s because of his own actions; he can bear it like a man. “Then you should get home. Sorry to trouble you. Buy a pack of gum before you get in or your mother will smell my blood on your breath.”

 

 _She definitely already knows,_ Rei wearily wishes he could point out, but that would send Keito into a frenzy. He says he’s great at hiding things from his mother, but he’s not. His mother is just great at ignoring the shit she doesn’t care about, which mostly consists of anything he does that doesn’t _immediately_ embarrass her. “Already on it.” Rei sets his guitar outside of the window first, then follows suit, heaving himself out of it with a huff of effort. “Sorry to keep you up all night.”

 

 _Sorry I can’t be what you want._ Keito forces a little smile, then takes off his glasses again, setting them at the head of his futon. “Goodnight, Rei.”

 

But giving up Rei for Eichi feels like cold comfort when neither of them want to hold him while he sleeps.


	9. Chapter 9

Tenshouin Eichi loves shaking things up, and feeling decently healthy for the first time in his life makes that _so_ easy.

 

Without chaos, where would this world be, anyway? That’s his cheerful mantra over the next week as he alternates between arranging the deaths of a handful of faeries and demons alike, pinning said deaths each on the opposite side, and watching how each faction gets testier, and testier, and testier.

 

Going for bigger game is the next goal, of course. Minor hunts are one thing; both sides are annoyed, certainly, but who cares when it’s weak little prey that no one will ultimately miss? Those test runs were enough proof to Eichi that he can _really_ stir the part with something better, and with Ritsu’s help, setting up a proper trap for his next prey is a delight.

 

Going to check it when he arrives home from school, however, yields interesting results.

 

He expects a properly strange creature—maybe a C class kitsune, like those cute little twins that trail at Rei’s heels during the day—but instead, it’s…Wataru. Yes, that’s definitely Wataru. Or maybe it’s a shapeshifter that takes the form of the object of his affections? Ooh, that might be tricky. Eichi blinks, striding across the perfectly manicured lawn behind his mansion, peering at Wataru from a distance. He can see far more of the glimmering ropes of magic that bind him essentially into a cage, but it’s still strange to him. “…Wataru?” he attempts, his eyebrows raising. “Huh. I’ll admit, I didn’t expect this.”

 

Wataru flutters a little, but his face breaks out into relief the second he sees Eichi, sagging against his bonds. At least they seem to be somewhat inert, binding without hurting him in any way. “Your Majesty! Ah, I appear to have found myself in a very _surprising_ bind here--but you know as they say, one’s words are bonds, his oaths are oracles, his love sincere!”

 

Eichi folds his arms, frowning. Well, he supposes this _is_ a properly strange creature, but…it’s still not what he wanted or expected. Or is it? Ritsu had told him this trap could catch a great number of powerful things, and after hearing about Rei’s marriage (to _Wataru_ , how strange, how disappointing), Eichi supposes this does have its appeal. He’s been avoiding the topic, pretending to not know a thing, so now will be a good time to see if Wataru wants to continue doing the same. “This is my trap,” he says. “Maybe I should just leave you in it.”

 

Wataru’s hair swirls around his body in the wind, and he twitches his hand, managing to free a playing card from his sleeve. “My birds need feeding,” he implores, batting his eyelashes. “Pick a card, I’ll try and guess.”

 

“How about we play a different game?” So help him, Wataru being strung up _is_ delightful. Eichi heaves a sigh, amused at his own weakness. “Do you want to guess why I’m displeased with you?”

 

“I love games!” The card disappears, and Wataru regards Eichi, apparently unfazed by his current predicament. It’s been many hours, after all. He’s had time to get used to it. “Did you, perhaps, require a princess carry when your humble servant was nowhere to be found?”

 

“Mm, no, not this time.” Eichi steps forward, plucking up Wataru’s braid, idly toying with it. “Try again. Or would you like a hint?”

 

“Ah, hints, that complication and boon all at once.” Wataru tilts his head, curious and entertained. “Please hint at me, so I may escape the dismay of having caused my liege lord’s displeasure.”

 

“I’ll give you a name, then.” Eichi drops Wataru’s braid, watching it thump down against his shoulder. “Sakuma Rei.”

 

 _My husband_. Wataru’s mouth twists with guilt, and his smile falters, then fades. If Eichi knows about Rei, things are getting complicated. “Your left hand has not been compromised, if that’s what you fear. My loyalty remains to my king.”

 

“Ahh, so you admit to socializing with him more recently?” It’s time to see exactly how loyal Wataru is, based on how much he’ll admit. “You know my relationship with him is…somewhat strained, Wataru.”

 

“It’s my hope,” Wataru says sincerely, blinking large eyes, “that my close relationship with him will help improve your own. I adore the both of you so, you know!”

 

“Is that what you’re doing? What on earth could you be telling him to encourage that?”

 

“How much I cherish you, of course!” Wataru says earnestly, lifting himself by his bound arms to dangle on the ropes as if they’re his own inconvenient hammock. “I tell him stories of your generosity, your resourcefulness, your beauty, your intelligence and resilience!”

 

“Uh huh.” Somehow, Eichi doubts Rei will hear any of that, and even if Wataru _does_ speak of it, it goes through one ear and out the other. “And that’s all the two of you do when you’re together?”

 

Wataru lifts his head, brows furrowing. “Is this line of questioning necessary to be held on school grounds as I dangle? I can make much more spectacular entrances when given the opportunity--and set a far more magnificent stage for my Emperor.”

 

Eichi tsks, and reaches over, tapping Wataru’s nose. “And here I thought you were truly loyal to me,” he sighs. “I suppose you’ll just have to stay here, dangling, until you want to prove that my left hand truly has not been compromised—physically, too, I wonder? I can never trust demons and their wandering hands.”

 

“Eichi! I--”

 

But Eichi has ways of knowing things, and Wataru _knows_ this. Fate is a strange thing, isn’t it? He shrugs, fluttering a hand, and says entirely truthfully, “While your left hand may have been promised, it’s hardly been compromised, Your Highness. Rumors of hands that _wander_ have been greatly exaggerated.”

 

That’s better, but still not quite enough. Ah, he does really like watching Wataru dangling there. “Just ‘promised’?” Eichi’s head tilts, and he regards Wataru skeptically. “Hmm. I wonder if that’s the case when _my_ sources said you were part of a proper _ceremony_ and everything. I wasn’t even invited, how cruel.” 

 

Wataru goes still, and though he smiles again, this time it’s strained, his voice quiet. “Neither were my parents,” he says, blinking rapidly. “Can you blame me for keeping quiet something I never requested? A quirk of fate, not one I sought out, nor one I was prepared for.”

 

Eichi pauses, then sighs, relenting with a little shrug. “I’ll let you go if you explain the situation to me—properly,” he firmly adds. “Or I’ll assume that you want to keep lying to me, and you have, indeed, been compromised.”

 

“I’ll tell you what I can,” Wataru offers. “Some of it is sealed in my own words, you understand? But I swear to you, first and foremost, with all the truth I can muster...my first loyalty is where it has always been. To you.”

 

 _Good enough._ Eichi nods to himself, and pulls out a tiny, folded ofuda from his pocket, pressing it to Wataru’s chest. In an instant, the glowing bonds holding Wataru in place unravel, falling back to the trap that they were before catching Wataru within it. “You _do_ belong to me, don’t you,” he murmurs, plucking up Wataru’s braid again to gently tug it. “Forgive me. I don’t like having to question that.”

 

Wataru tumbles down to the ground, not bothering to catch himself, kneeling gracefully in front of Eichi with his head down. “I do belong to you,” he says softly, honestly. “No matter who decides to pledge my loyalty, my heart is true. Do you want me to make my confessions here on the lawn, or in a more private location? Not that I don’t adore the great outdoors--it’s almost a picnic, how romantic!”

 

“I’d like for you to continue on this train of thought, and not have time to second guess yourself.” Eichi reaches down, catching Wataru by the chin and tilting his head back. “Go on. Continue confessing, this will determine how lenient I am, I think.”

 

Wataru sits back on his heels, deciding to assume the role of the Yamato Nadeshiko for the time being, in a prim feminine seiza with his hands folded in his lap. This is far easier than being his blunt self. “The most obvious first? I, your Hibiki Wataru, as I have hinted and outright stated many times, am no human.”

 

“I’ve gathered. Fae, yes?” Eichi’s thumb rubs slowly against the curve of Wataru’s jaw. “And apparently, quite important.”

 

Wataru spreads his hands. “I didn’t know,” he says simply. “Ah, it’s time for you to know what even Rei hasn’t asked, how amazing! My mother...my real mother. She was a princess, or so I’ve gathered. She spirited me away--we love spiriting away, we do it to ourselves and others!--and died after hiding me. I...I don’t know why.”

 

“I see. I’m sorry to hear that.” Eichi pauses, considering his next words. “If that’s the case, why were _you_ chosen to be dragged into such an…arrangement?”

 

“Again--the truthful answer is the most interesting!” Wataru laughs, and admits, “I committed a somewhat false step. Without knowing, I interfered in a demon’s hunting ground. I didn’t know what I was--my humble parentage, I believed, was nothing but a mystery for the ages!--until I was suddenly dragged before a Faerie tribunal, being sentenced.”

 

“And your sentence was to be married. To a Demon Prince—no, _the_ Demon Prince Heir Apparent.” It seems like a silly thing to be considered a _punishment_. Eichi would cheerfully marry a princess if it meant a chance to climb up yet another status rung.

 

Wataru’s smile is resigned, and he shrugs broad shoulders. “Fate is mysterious, no? I had no idea it would be my dear friend Rei, of course, until he stood across from me on the altar.”

 

“What does that even _entail?_ ” Now that Wataru has been truthful with him, Eichi is more morbidly interested than suspicious. He kneels down across from Wataru, curiosity clear within his expression. “What’s a demon wedding like? Did he bite you? Did you bite him? I don’t know as much about faeries, you know, I’ve mostly heard about demons my whole life.”

 

“If you’ve heard anything about demons,” Wataru says, amused with himself, “you knew vastly more than I, and still do. My cousin had to teach me how to perform my part the night before.”

 

“And you’re married to a Demon Prince now,” Eichi repeats, his brow furrowing. “You _still_ don’t know anything? Oh, that’s no good, my poor Wataru.” He reaches out, stroking Wataru’s cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll steal you away soon enough.”

 

Wataru’s eyes close, and he leans against Eichi’s hand. Then, just as suddenly, he jerks away when a discordant energy shocks through him. It’s powerful, not human, and entirely familiar. “You--aren’t human either?”

 

“Hmm?” Eichi blinks, then laughs, his head tilting. “You can feel that? I’m human, I promise you. I just…have a little bit of help, you see.”

 

“A...Patron, as they say?”

 

“Mm, a Patron.” Eichi’s eyes lid. “I was hoping you’d be mine, but alas, you seem to be drifting from me with this arrangement. I took matters into my own hands.”

 

Wataru’s eyes shine, and he catches Eichi’s hand, ignoring the electric shocks coursing through his body, taking them in stride and managing the pain without a flinch. “As I would expect from someone as determined, unique, and magnificent as you.”

 

“…I wonder if I can have two,” Eichi muses aloud, giving Wataru’s hand a firm squeeze. “A demon _and_ a faerie, wouldn’t that be interesting? I’ll have to ask. Do you even know how to be someone’s Patron, if you’ve been so sheltered?”

 

“Not in the slightest!” Wataru laughs, though his breath hitches slightly when a warning shock of electricity shoots out of Eichi’s hand, flavored dark and sickly-sweet. He beams, squeezing back. “All I’ve ever used my powers for, or so I hear, is to augment my slight of hand. I have no idea what I’m doing!”

 

“I’m going to do some research.” Because if anyone has resources, it’s his family, and Wataru is genuinely quite pathetic in this state. “And then,” Eichi hums, leaning in close, “I’m going to steal you. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Being mine, instead of some vampire’s?”

 

Wataru’s lashes flutter, and he says, without the slightest hint of dishonesty, and with all of the pleasure in the world, “I’ve always been yours, Your Majesty.”

 

“What a good boy,” Eichi murmurs, leaning in until their noses brush. Their lips almost do as well, _almost._ “I’m sure you’ll find it pleasant to watch the Underworld crumble as much as I will.”

 

“Eh? Crumble?” Wataru laughs, and rests his forehead against Eichi’s, disregarding the shocks. “Whatever you bring about, I know the destruction will be glorious.”

 

“I want to rule the world,” Eichi cheerfully reminds him. “That means all of it, visible to humans and not. Ahh, but first things first, there are a few things to bring down.” He taps Wataru’s cheek, and then tilts his head, stealing a kiss from Wataru’s lips, slow and sweet and deliberate. “You’ll help me when I need you to,” he murmurs. “Won’t you.”

 

Wataru smiles helplessly, because he’s always been helpless in the face of Tenshouin Eichi, ever since their fated meeting and more fated battle. “I am, as always, at Your Majesty’s service, as long as you don’t get tired of me.”

 

Eichi smiles, and kisses him again, just because Wataru _can’t_ turn him away. “I’ll never get tired of you,” he simply says. “You should know that by now.”


	10. Chapter 10

It’s a few weeks before Eichi is around in one place long enough for Keito to pin him down. True, he’s got his own issues keeping him busy, but still, it’s unusual for Eichi not to be in the hospital for so long.

 

So, when the warning flickers around the edge of his glasses are too much to ignore, Keito throws caution to the wind, shouldering his bag and cornering Eichi after the tea club’s practice. “Eichi. We need to talk.”

 

It doesn’t work. Eichi just laughs, and slips out of his view, somehow, vanishing into the crowds.

 

So he goes over Eichi’s head, and sneaks into Eichi’s mansion that night (though it isn’t _really_ sneaking if it’s for Eichi’s own good, he thinks), and into his bedroom, giving the servants a nod on his way up. Once in Eichi’s bedroom, he shuts and locks the door behind him, eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “Eichi. Stop avoiding me and tell me who your Patron is.”

 

“You’re so forward, Keito,” Eichi complains, very much in the process of stripping. He doesn’t stop just because Keito enters the room, and off his shirt goes, tossed onto the floor for a servant to deal with later. “At least knock first. What would you have done if I was entirely naked and waiting in bed for you, hmm?”

 

Keito thinks of it as a great victory that he only wavers on his feet for a single long moment before coming to his senses. He doesn’t even have to physically shake his head, though the mental image of Eichi nude and spread out like a buffet for--

 

No, no, he shakes his head to banish the thought after all. “You’re avoiding the question. You’ve enlisted a Patron.”

 

Eichi keeps stripping. Trousers are for school and work, not lounging around in bed, and those get kicked aside as well. “I was wondering when you’d ask me about that. Do you know if it’s possible to have two of them at once?”

 

“Are you actively trying to give me a heart attack, or does this sort of thing just come natural?” Keito demands, hands on hips. “Don’t answer that. You _are_ trying to give me a heart attack. Who’s your Patron?”

 

Eichi flops down onto his bed, kicks off his boxers, and lounges. “I was hoping you’d be more knowledgeable on the subject. Maybe I’ll just have to ask around, or do some reading…”

 

“It’s a demon, isn’t it?” Keito demands, thoroughly not enjoying the way they keep talking around each other. “I can tell. Answer my damn question, everything I’ve ever done is to protect you!”

 

Eichi rolls onto his stomach, kicking his feet. “Have you ever met someone that has both a demon _and_ faerie Patron?”

 

“Have you ever met a Watcher that died of a Tenshouin Eichi induced heart attack? Whoever he is, he’s _lying_ to you, Eichi.” Keito barely refrains from stamping his foot. “He’s killing you.”

 

“I feel healthier than I ever have in my entire life, I’ll have you know.”

 

“Of course you do! If you felt worse, everyone would know that the whole thing is just a sham! I--dammit, Eichi, I’ve _warned_ you for _years_ about this stuff! And the second I look away, you go and do something like this?”

 

“Maybe,” Eichi sweetly says, looking over his shoulder, “you shouldn’t have been looking away for quite so long. What could have made you do that, I wonder. Or is it a ‘who’? Ahh, I don’t know much about Keito’s love life, I suppose…”

 

“Don’t be stupid, I don’t have a love life,” Keito says crossly, folding his arms over his chest. “I’ve been cleaning up your mess at school--did you do this because of that Trickstar nonsense?”

 

“Well, I do want to take over the world. They’re slowing my empire slightly.”

 

“ _They_ are a group of four fifteen-year-old boys, none of which have any magical talent.”

 

“I lost an investor because of their antics…and UNDEAD’s.” Eichi’s eyebrows raise. “Money is almost as good as magic these days.”

 

“If money is just as good,” Keito says tiredly, rubbing at the bridge of his nose, “why not just use that? You don’t need investors, you’re incredibly wealthy.”

 

“Taking over the world requires _more_ money. But you don’t think of such things, so I don’t expect you to understand.” Eichi rolls onto his side, plopping his chin down into one hand. “Maybe I’m having a lot of fun with my new pet. Does that bother you?”

 

“Yes.” Keito moves to the bed, sitting on the foot of it and trying not to fly into a rage. “Whoever it is is using you. My...I know it isn’t my _job_ to keep you safe, but I thought you’d have let me, anyway.”

 

“They aren’t using me. I’m using _them_.” Eichi watches him, amusement clear as day upon his face. “We came to a very intricate agreement before this began, I’ll have you know.”

 

Keito doesn’t drag his hands down his face, but it’s a near thing. “That isn’t how it _works_. Look, it’s less than a year since you made this deal, so I can break it, if you tell me who it is. And no, you cannot have _two_ , are you insane? You’ll be dead in a week.”

 

“If you’re going to break it, I’ll never tell you,” Eichi pointedly says. “If you’re so certain that I’m going to die, you could tell me _why._ ”

 

Keito takes a deep breath, and reminds himself that Eichi just doesn’t _know_. “The arrangement between a Patron and their favorite,” he says carefully, “is one of a mutual exchange of life force. It’s possible, magically, because it’s an equal amount, though not an equal quality. The human is getting an infusion of life force that is more powerful than their own, and the creature is getting something delicious to eat. The _problem_ is, the human can’t eat creature life force. So you can hold it for a while, and it feels good and you feel powerful, but it doesn’t become a part of you.” He takes a deep breath, hoping it’s getting through. “And a human’s life force regenerates far more slowly than a creature’s, anyway. It’s like saying you’re doing a drinking water trade with another country, but they have an ocean and you have a well. You can’t drink the water they give you, and they’ll never run out, but you’re going dry.”

 

Eichi considers this, and then yawns, nodding his head. “Right, right. So it’s no different than how I’m already going to die, but it’s certainly more exciting. I’ll use it while I can, then. Do you think if I had both a demon and a faerie all that bad stuff would cancel each other out?”

 

“You can’t have both a demon and a faerie! You don’t have enough life force, Eichi!” Eichi is going to be the death of him. Then again, Keito has already sort of known that. “Why the hell would you _want_ to? They hate each other.”

 

“But if they have a common goal, hate doesn’t matter much.” Eichi sticks his tongue out. “Besides, isn’t it up to a Patron to decide if I have enough life force or not? I don’t think my first took all that much.”

 

Keito frowns at him, and sketches a few runes in the air, surveying Eichi critically. “I suppose he didn’t,” he finally concludes, though that doesn’t stop him from being highly suspicious. “Probably a fluke.”

 

“Then having a second shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll let Wataru know.”

 

Keito swears he feels his actual heart skip in his chest. “I’m begging you to tell me you’re joking. You _can’t_.”

 

“Can’t I?” Eichi smiles, drumming his fingers against his cheek. “He’s already mine, you know.”

 

“He’s not just a faerie, though. He’s...there are political considerations, I--look, you don’t _have_ to be involved in this nonsense, you know!”

 

“Don’t I? Maybe you should explain it to me a bit more.” Eichi pushes himself up, and crawls over towards Keito, peering up at him through his lashes. “If you want to keep me safe, shouldn’t you be telling me everything?”

 

Keito leans back, trying unsuccessfully to put some distance between the two of them. “Stop it, Eichi. I’m trying--you don’t need to be here, so just stay out of it!”

 

But that won’t work, and he knows it, so he takes in a deep breath, saying, “You don’t need to be a part of this. It’s all just death, and struggles, and people being taken advantage of. You have everything--you can just be an idol and rule the entertainment world. Isn’t that better?”

 

Eichi pouts. “No. It’s not better, and it’s not _everything._ Everything…well.” He reaches out, resting the tips of his fingers against Keito’s chest. “Everything would also include your world, wouldn’t it? You’ve always tried to keep me _just_ outside of it, in spite of who I am and what my family is…I’ve always wondered why.”

 

“Do you?”

 

He shouldn’t say anything.

 

God, he _shouldn’t_ say anything, but Eichi...Eichi looks so sad, and the words burn the inside of Keito’s mouth when he tries to hold them back. No--if it’ll help Eichi make the right choice instead of being so foolish...yes, he’s got to say something.

 

He reaches out, and takes Eichi’s hand, carefully curling his fingers around Eichi’s even paler ones. “I’ve seen so many people and things killed because of all of this,” he says softly, head bowed. “I never...hated that your condition kept you away from all of that. It made me feel like I could, like I could keep my most precious thing safe, after all.”

 

Eichi heaves a sigh, shaking his head as he gives Keito’s hand a squeeze. “You worry _so_ much. Must you worry about me like that?” He scoots closer, tilting his head. “Keito, how many times have we talked about how I’m going to die? I would hate dying in a hospital bed, wasting away—I’d rather die like a real star. Explosions, you know? Or maybe on a battlefield, in a glorious war…mm, that’s what I want. So you can worry all you want, but you’re not allowed to stop me.”

 

Keito feels stupid, childish tears start to prickle behind his eyes, and looks down at his own lap in frustration. “I just wish that you’d listen to me, for once. You...you _know_ I just want to protect you. I know that isn’t what you want, but just...fine. fine. You know, fine.”

 

He wipes a hand over his eyes, then squares his shoulders. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I’ll break all my oaths for you. Just...promise me that you’ll at least _consider_ taking some of my advice when I know more than you do.”

 

“Ehh, are you _crying?_ ” Eichi teases, reaching up to poke at Keito’s cheek. “None of that now, you’re supposed to be a big, bad scary Watcher. But all right, if you’re going to cry, I’ll promise to consider things carefully, okay? Let’s start with Wataru, I want to see if my information matches up nicely.”

 

Keito nods, trying to get ahold of himself. “Right, right. Well, from what I know, he’s a powerful fae, who’s somehow stayed hidden his whole life. I assume you’ve learned about his recent nuptials.”

 

“Oh, yes. I was very sad to find out I had missed it, but apparently it was quite a sudden affair. Does that mean you’re technically keeping an eye on him now, too, because he’s disgustingly attached to Sakuma’s hip?”

 

“Nothing so simple. You...” Keito regards Eichi for a moment, curiously. “What do you know about what a Watcher does?”

 

“Nothing,” Eichi cheerfully sing-songs. “You never tell me anything. I just assumed you spent your time scolding, honestly!”

 

Keito rolls his eyes. “All right, very quickly: you know what an onmyouji is?”

 

“I know there’s a shrine in Kyoto that fangirls go to because there was some sexy onmyouji back in the day.”

 

“But do you know what it _means_? One what does?”

 

“Mm, it’s kind of like a sorcerer, right?” Eichi sits back, resting his hands on his knees. “With all the papers and charms and beads and stuff. I’ve read your manga, I’ve got this.”

 

“Good, good.” Keito inhales a few times, trying not to be _too_ annoyed. It’s partly his own fault for not explaining things...though a little part of his mind whispers, _He was interested and well-researched enough to find out everything about Wataru after a year, he’s known you for a decade and never cared a thing._ “I’m human, essentially. Completely. What make us different is our knowledge. And a few hundred years ago, my family’s clan entered into a treaty with the human and vampire clans.”

 

This is the part that he can’t tell anyone, not even Eichi. So he swallows hard, and chooses vagueness. “In exchange for one concession, each member of the vampire court is assigned one of us--a Watcher. We protect them, advise them, keep them safe, and try to keep them in line, if we can. If necessary, we die for them.”

 

“That sounds like you have the short end of that deal.” Eichi’s head tilts. “Who’re you assigned to? I can’t imagine you _dying_ for a vampire, that would just be ridiculous.” Ah, well, another thing to change when he takes over.

 

“...Sakuma Rei,” Keito says quietly. “Since I was eight. That’s not common for us, it was...an unusual occurrence.” Resulting in him being the youngest Watcher ever on record, and honestly, if he’d known then what he knows now, he probably would have simply died of fright at that age.

 

Eichi whistles. “You’ve put up with him for a _long_ time, then,” he says with a laugh. “Mm, I can’t say I’m surprised. You must know a _lot_ about him, huh?”

 

“Too much,” Keito says immediately.

 

“Good. Unload some of it onto me.”

 

Keito hesitates. “I really can’t,” he admits. “I can tell you about what I do, but remember, my job is to keep him safe.”

 

“And what if I told you that’s already compromised, so it doesn’t matter anymore?” Eichi smiles, shrugging. “He’s got like, one option at this point, when I finally deal with his mother. Be sweet to me and I won’t see him killed, or…the opposite. Ahh, is that too blunt?”

 

Keito goes pale, and actually sways in his seat at the idea of Eichi trying to _deal with_ Sakuma Airi. He wipes his sleeve across his forehead, trying to remember how to breathe. “I, ah. You’re...God. Is there anything I can do or say to dissuade you from this course of action? She’s...have you met her?”

 

“No, but that doesn’t matter. I know everything I need to know about her.”

 

 _Except for how she’ll make your blood run cold. Except for how she’ll happily tear out your heart, because she’s far more vicious than you could ever be--yes, even you._ Keito tries to force those feelings down, and doesn’t succeed. “She’s the nightmare of my childhood,” he says softly, focusing on nothing in particular. “I’ve always assumed she’ll kill me one day, when I fail her.”

 

“I’m not afraid of a vampire, let alone one like her.” Eichi’s smile doesn’t falter. “Because you’re sharing so much, I’ll be kind and offer a sliver as to why I don’t fear her. Sweet little Ritsu is my Patron.”

 

Keito groans, burying his face in his hands. “Thank you for telling me, but this is... _very_ terrible. Ugh, Rei will be so angry...”

 

“Oh, I don’t care. Ritsu and I are going to take over the world, he hates his mother very much. That’s why I also want Wataru, then Rei won’t stand a chance, ha!”

 

“I’m sure,” Keito says, trying not to sound insulting, “that to you, that sounds simple. To me, please understand that you sound like a toddler saying that all you have to do is tame a housecat, and then all the jungle will do as you say.”

 

“Keito,” Eichi says _patiently_ , patting Keito’s knee. “I brought your cute vampire pet to his knees once before by making him go out in the sun one too many times, and that was just because I kept challenging his band. I _think_ I’ve got a handle on him, and I _know_ I can deal with his witch of a mother. Ritsu’s been very forthcoming.”

 

Keito’s heart does a weird _thu-thud_ motion, the way it’s done every single time Eichi has touched him since puberty. How unhelpful. With a sigh, he throws up his hands. “Nothing I say will actually stop you, so just...please understand. If he decides that he isn’t going to go along with your scheme, and it comes to it? If you attack him, I’ll be between you. I’ll die for him, if I must. I, I _have_ to.”

 

“That’s no fun,” Eichi sighs, rubbing Keito’s thigh distractedly. “You can’t just…forsake your vows and go rogue? Come be Ritsu’s Watcher or something, his doesn’t seem to have a lot of time to do much of anything but be a dirty _mole._ ”

 

“I’m not getting in between him and Isara,” Keito says with a snort. “And I have absolutely no intention of abandoning my charge. I’ve kept him safe when people have been trying to kill him for ten years, I’m not about to let him go now.”

 

“Huh. So surprisingly loyal. Are you sleeping with him?”

 

“No.” The answer is swift, but truthful, and Keito doesn’t flinch away from Eichi’s gaze. “That’s one of the first rules of being a Watcher, not getting romantically involved with our charges.”

 

“That sounds boring,” Eichi laments, then he sighs, and promptly snuggles his way into Keito’s side. “Well, good. More for me then.”

 

“In case you’ve somehow missed it, I’m not sleeping with you either.”

 

“I’m hitting on you, Keito. Follow along.”

 

Keito looks up sharply, brow furrowing. “Don’t play with me, Eichi. I don’t like that, it isn’t fair.”

 

Eichi holds up his hands in immediate surrender. “I wasn’t playing, but if you don’t want me to continue then I’ll leave it be. You have so many duties to attend to, being an important Watcher-sama.”

 

“Eichi.” A voice in Keito’s mind shrieks at him to _shut up and take what’s being offered_ , reminding him helpfully that this will probably never happen again. He steps on it, along with his feelings, ruthlessly. He’s used to squashing those down. “I’ve confessed to you a few different times. You’ve never said anything until you wanted me out of the way to deal with my charge. That...is painful.”

 

“If that’s the way you want to see it, then there’s nothing I can do, is there?” Eichi flops onto his back with a huff of breath. “I don’t see the harm in wanting to kiss you after you’ve _finally_ been so forthcoming, but whatever floats your boat.”

 

“I love you.” Well, it doesn’t look like his mouth is going to behave any time soon, Keito thinks regretfully. But at this point, what’s the harm? “I do. I’ve always been in love with you, and I always will be. So if you want me...”

 

He pushes up his glasses, cheeks flaming, but he doesn’t let himself look down. Now isn’t the time for cowardice. “You can have whatever you want from me. But I want to think you’re too good a person to lead even me, your best friend, on for personal gain.”

 

“You’re right.” Ahh, it’s unfortunate, but Keito _is_ right, no matter how he tries to be entirely cold and malicious. Eichi heaves a sigh and stares up at the ceiling. “What I _really_ want is for you to be my Watcher, or something like it, you know? Maybe if Ritsu turned me into a vampire, you wouldn’t have a choice, and you’d have to dump Sakuma and come over to protect me. That would be nice.”

 

“Eichi, I can’t dump him. I need you to understand that.” Then he swallows, and admits, “Even if I could, I wouldn’t. He’s my responsibility.” But at least Eichi isn’t playing tetherball with his heart anymore, so that’s something.

 

“You should,” Eichi grumbles, rolling onto his side and grabbing a pillow to punch a little. “I want you at my side when I take over the world, that’s how it’s supposed to be. _I’m_ better.”

 

“And I will be at your side. I’m your right hand, and I always will be.” Keito tries to tell himself that this is good, it’s the only way he can be sure he’s made the right choice, but it feels hollow, like the night four years earlier when he’d pushed Rei away from his futon. _Making the right choice always feels so awful._

 

“You can’t be my right hand if you’re his Watcher.” Eichi stretches out a leg, and prods Keito with his toes. “You made that pretty clear. You like him too much, that’s not fair.”

 

“Life isn’t fair. He’s my _job_ , you’ve never cared before.”

 

“Because it wasn’t in the way of what I wanted to do. I thought I could steal you away no matter what, I don’t like this.”

 

Keito finally stands from the bed, straightening his clothes. “You know I’m at your service,” he says quietly, pushing up his glasses. “But I have my duty. And you wouldn’t like me so much if I were the kind of person that ignored it. I’d be no better than that fool Hibiki.”

 

“I like you both for very different reasons.” Eichi huffs into his pillow. “Let me guess. You have to go report eeeverything now, huh.”

 

“Hm? Oh, yes. My charge needs to know about threats to his life. You qualify for that, now.”

 

Keito wavers, not sure if he should be generous, and relents, the way he always does. “I’ll hold back your name, for now. But if he doesn’t think it’s serious, he’ll do something stupid, and I’ll have to die for him, which would be a complete inconvenience.”

 

“No, that’s silly. You should tell him it’s me.” Eichi pokes his eyes up over the edge of his pillow, staring over at Keito. “And you can tell him that I fuck his cute little brother until he cries. That’ll make him think it’s serious, heh.”

 

Keito’s stomach clenches and twists, and he strides to the door, swallowing the bile that rises in the back of his throat. “Good night, Eichi.”


	11. Chapter 11

_Twang._

 

_Thwack._

 

_Twang._

 

_Thwack._

 

Keito draws back another arrow, and lets it fly, plunging into the white circle around the bullseye. Not as good as some members of the club, but archery is about competing against the self far more than it’s about competing against other people. When the stress gets to be too much, shooting for an hour or two is more therapeutic than most of the more traditional meditations are to him.

 

After an hour, when his back is dripping with sweat, Keito puts his bow and quiver away, yanking the last of the arrows out of the target and stashing those as well. Before changing, he pauses, looking sadly at the peeling paint on the side of the building. Wait, hadn’t there been a can of paint in the back somewhere, and a brush? He makes his way to the storage room in back, only to jump back with a curse when something moves, only to discover--

 

“Little John?”

 

The orange tabby recognizes him at once, rubbing against his leg, and Keito feels a real smile stretch his lips, affection suffusing him as soon as she throws her bulk against his shin. He kneels, and before he knows it, he’s lying on his back, laughing as she kneads her excellent paw pads into his chest, settling imperiously to clean a paw. “Are you having babies again?” he demands, scratching at her belly as she decides whether or not to swat at him. “You are, aren’t you, little hussy! No, no, don’t listen to my judgments, I’m glad you’ve got a boyfriend who makes you happy. Don’t take any of his nonsense, my girl. You should bring him around sometime, we’ll call him Will Scarlet.”

 

Sneaking around the back part of the Archery Club’s building is entirely too suspicious, but fortunately, it’s only Keito’s voice that Sakuma Rei hears within.

 

Or is it unfortunate after all, judging by the way his stomach flip-flops? They haven’t spoken at all other than a few brief words and grunts since that ridiculous wedding night, and Rei wishes he could take back all of those embarrassing text messages, sent when he was feeling _genuinely_ terrible…

 

Rei wavers, the plastic bag from the conbini clutched tightly in his hand all the same. Maybe he should just leave it, and the fat cat that keeps frequenting this area of campus will figure out how to open cans on her own. No, no, she’s not enchanted, she’s just a normal cat, and _someone_ has to feed her (though judging by her weight, more than just ‘someone’ feeds her regularly).

 

Unimportant. More important, Keito sounds cute with cats, and Rei gingerly attempting to open the back door of the Archery Club just results in a cloud of dust and flakey bits of wood raining down upon himself. So much for being sneaky. “Sorry for the intrusion,” he calls, sighing and half-heartedly dusting himself off. “I saw the kitty run in here, I just wanted to make sure she was fed…”

 

Keito raises his head, notes that the voice belongs to Sakuma Rei, then lets it thunk down again. Unimportant, when he’s got a pet cat sitting on on his chest. “Have you met Sakuma Rei, Little John? He’s a terrible brat that doesn’t answer his text messages or attend class on a reliable schedule, who should be lucky that his Watcher is a forgiving sort.”

 

Little John lifts her head, sniffs at the air, and then bolts off of Keito’s chest with all of the strength and effort of a very pregnant cat—which is to say, not much. She waddles more than anything, her belly dragging the ground as she winds her way around Rei’s ankles, meowing and staring at the bag in his grasp.

 

“She knows me,” Rei wryly admits, crouching down onto the floor to pet the cat’s head, and then reaches into the bag to pull out a can of cat food. “Yes, yes, I’m going to feed you…look at you, you’re eating for at _least_ three, right? Ahh, cats are so good…”

 

“Traitor,” Keito says mildly to the cat, without any real rancor. “So, you’re the one who’s been contributing to her obesity. Thanks, she deserves a treat.”

 

“It can’t possibly just be me,” Rei protests, cracking opening the can and barely able to set it down before Little John attacks it. “Besides, she needs it, she’s keeping you company.” He hesitates, then flops down to the ground, cross-legged. “My apologies for not being very accessible. I’ve been in a bit of a slump.”

 

Keito waves a hand, rolling over to lay on his stomach. He wouldn’t usually do this, wouldn’t do it anywhere else or with anyone else, but...it’s Rei. “It’s fine. There are just some things we need to talk about, for your safety. Ugh, not here, this is my relaxing space.”

 

“I don’t want to talk about stuff like that right now, anyway.” Rei wavers, then slowly slides his way down, stretching out onto the ground next to Keito. “Can we talk about normal things? I wanna play human for awhile.”

 

Keito almost, _almost_ , protests. Instead, he reaches up to pet Little John’s spine, petting her gently as she eats. “Did you catch the newest episode of _Tokyo Ghoul?_ It’s getting so shitty. The manga was so much better.”

 

Little John starts growling, but that doesn’t stop her from eating, and it doesn’t make her move away from petting, either. Rei lets his head flop against the ground, his cheek pressed into the floorboards. “I fell asleep half-way through. Glad I’m not missing anything. The manga’s okay, but you could do better. Have you been writing anything lately? I didn’t even get a chance to ask when I first came home.”

 

“Mm, not really. I feel like...like I’m not getting anything done, even though it feels like I’m busy all the time.” A little of the ache in Keito’s chest eases, and he rests his cheek against his biceps, letting go of the cat at last. “I wake up in the morning thinking of things I want to draw, but...I just don’t have the energy, most days.”

 

“That’s the worst. It happens with music with me all the time, now that I’m home…ahh, I miss England…” Rei shuts his eyes briefly. “You should draw something about cats. Or very fluffy dogs. Both are good. Emphasize their paw pads.”

 

“You’d have good paw pads if you were a cat.”

 

“Would I? But spider fingers.” Rei cracks open an eye, slowly flexing his hand against the floor. “I feel like they would be weird. I wish I could turn into a cat, then maybe you’d pet me.” _Uh. Thanks, brain._ Awkward shit sure does like to spill out when he’s tired and stressed and unhappy.

 

Keito flops his hand over, and does what he hasn’t let himself do since he was thirteen, running his fingers gently through Rei’s hair. The old familiar silky feeling of it brings tears to his eyes, and he turns his head away. “Nostalgia, ah. Don’t mind me, it’s been a long week.”

 

Rei says nothing to that, but he does scoot closer, flopping his head back down within optimal petting range. Keito has a nice touch, with his hand never too cold or too warm, and he’s good at petting, using just enough pressure against his scalp to make it feel like a luxury massage more than anything else. “You can keep petting me. You could do the fishy-face grabby thing, too, if you’re mad at me.”

 

“I’m not mad at you, though. I’m worried about you.” Keito should be above things like this--he’s eighteen, a man grown, who shouldn’t be so relieved that his friend is allowing these head pats. “Everything is...moving really fast. And you’re married, for God’s sake.”

 

“Ugh. No, I’m not. I’m in denial.” Rei scoots another centimeter closer, until their shoulders touch. “You worry about too many things. I’ve been good lately—well, I’ve been trying to be. I guess stealing drinks from my friends once in awhile is bad, but I’m always hungry, I can’t help it.”

 

“You’re not paying attention.” Keito’s rebuke is gentle, more worried than angry. “Ritsu’s running around on you. Politically, as well as romantically.”

 

“I don’t want to pay attention. I don’t want to know.” Deliberately, Rei pulls his hair down over his face. It’s not as effective as when he was nine, but it’s something. “I don’t know why he hates me all of a sudden. It’s not like I wanted any of this either, it’s not fair.”

 

“For the record, I don’t think he’s angry at you.” Keito wants to tell him more, to let him know about the plot against his mother, but...he’s just so _tired_. He pets, twirling a strand of hair around his finger, and changes the subject. “Tsukinaga showed up. He acted like he couldn’t remember that Deadmanz disbanded, what a troublesome guy.”

 

Rei tips his head over, butting it against Keito’s hand. He’d so much rather talk about Deadmanz, or about other stupid stuff from their past than what’s going on in the present, and at least Keito can read his mind that much. “Maybe we should start the unit up again. We sounded good. I mean, you yelled at me all the time, and Koga was yappy, but we sounded good. I had a puppy _and_ a kitty back then.”

 

“I’m pretty sure that you calling us that is half the reason Koga wanted to disband,” Keito says wryly, a smile playing over his lips that feels like the past. “And I didn’t yell that much. That was before I started yelling all the time.”

 

“You’ve _always_ yelled at _me_ all the time. We should totally start it back up, though.” Rei peers up at Keito, wishing he had enough time to sneak his phone out and snap a picture before that smile disappears, but oh well. “Keito-kun’s being cute.”

 

That makes the smile disappear as fast as a magic trick. “This is why you’re not allowed in the archery club. It’s less satisfying to relax my rules persona if it’s being pointed out all the time.”

 

“That’s not true, you just have a limit to how much relaxation you can stand. You can’t fool me, I’ve known you for too long.”

 

Keito rests his head on his folded arm, looking up at Rei with a huff. “Eichi’s known me longer. It doesn’t stop him. Nothing stops him.”

 

“Tenshouin doesn’t pay attention to anything unless it gets him something. At least I acknowledge when I’m not paying attention to something, and I’m usually ignoring it because it makes me depressed.” Rei reaches over, returning the petting by rubbing Keito’s hair the wrong way. “You don’t make me depressed.”

 

“But I yell at you all the time.” Maybe it’s the nostalgia, or the quiet afternoon, or just how tired Keito is that’s making him act so childish, but it’s hard to stop now that he’s started. “You _never_ listen to me, you just make my life harder and then I have to yell at you, you wouldn’t _do_ that if you really liked me.”

 

“I listen to you plenty, you just don’t notice when I do because that’s normal,” Rei half-heartedly complains. “Besides, I like it when you yell at me. It’s even better if you have to chase me down. Maybe if you chased me down when you didn’t have some bad news to tell me or something, I wouldn’t have to go out of my way to misbehave.”

 

Keito butts his head against Rei’s shoulder. “I just worry about you, you dumb vampire,” he murmurs, watching a yellow leaf fall slowly from the top of a tree, “We both sort of decided that more space between us was good.”

 

“ _You_ decided that,” Rei mutters. “I just decided I didn’t want to argue at the time. Doesn’t mean I don’t have a lot of times when I _want_ to argue.”

 

Keito’s heart aches, and he buries his face in his arms, lying facedown on the polished wood floor. “Can we not...do this right now?” he implores. “You know, I don’t like _having_ to be the responsible one in every single damn situation.”

 

“Believe it or not, I’m _pretty good_ at not always needing someone to be the responsible one.” Sure, he’s gotten himself into some bad situations and some serious trouble in the past, but blaming Keito for any of that is ridiculous. It’s just a shame Keito obviously doesn’t see it that way.

 

Rei heaves a sigh as he worms closer, butting his head against the side of Keito’s. “If you’re stupid with me once in awhile, I _really_ don’t think anything bad is going to happen. I’m not gonna let it.” That hopefully carries a lot more weight than when he was fourteen and very, very dumb.

 

“But if it did...” Keito swallows. This isn’t why he comes to the archery club. He can feel the heavy weight of existential dread pressing down on him anywhere at any time, thanks very much. “If something happened to you because I let my guard down--I don’t even care what your mother would do to me.”

 

He rolls over onto his back, making sure his head still rests against Rei’s. “Eichi’s going after your mother.”

 

“But we’re not talking about that right now,” Rei mutters, briefly, wearily shutting his eyes. This sounds like something he should be responsible about and listen to thoroughly, but…oh, god, _any_ other time would be fine. Not right now. Not about Tenshouin Eichi, not about his mother. “This is your place to be stupid, right? Be stupid, kitty.”

 

Keito turns his head, squirming down to bury it in Rei’s shoulder. It’s nothing he’s let himself do for years, but...

 

One hand comes up, clutching at Rei’s jacket lapel, and stops when he hears the crinkling of paper. He reaches inside, and has to shut his eyes briefly when he feels the old charm, tied on by too-serious eight-year-old hands a lifetime ago. “You looked like a baby bird back then,” he says, muffled by Rei’s shoulder. “With paper sticking out everywhere like pinfeathers.”

 

Rei snorts out a laugh at that, and grabs for Keito, dragging him closer and wrapping all four limbs around him. “Which, of course, only added to my good looks. _God_ , I was a weird-looking kid. You looked like a tiny owl, which was cute, but I looked like Sadako from _The Ring._ ” He idly pats a hand over Keito’s where it rests within his jacket. “I figure that charm is long served its purpose, but, eh…it was nice having it in England, because you weren’t there.”

 

Keito submits to being cuddled with as much good grace as he’s capable of, though surely most people would think this is him being quite squirmy. Rei knows better. “If you still believe in it, it’ll still work, most likely,” he says, muffled into Rei’s chest now and content to stay that way. “I got a lot better at making them less visible, though...can you even see the spells I put on you every few days?”

 

“If I’m paying attention, or if you’re really aggressive about it and they’re itchy.” Rei buries his face down into Keito’s hair, unperturbed by his squirming and constant shifting. That just means Keito likes it. “If I have a bunch of little terrible vampire children, you have to protect them, too. No one else is good enough.”

 

“Sakuma Rei, you did _not_ just tell me that you want me to be the sole Watcher for an entire family.”

 

“But you’re the best! And I was _so_ well-behaved as a child, I’ll make sure my kids are the same. You know vampires are sooo useless and breakable as bitties, it’s not like they can even go outside until they’re _ten._ ”

 

“That’s why I plan on caging our children before--your children.” Keito is shocked his face doesn’t just burst into flames of humiliation. “Is Hibiki in a family way yet, or what?”

 

Oooh, Rei just _can’t_ let that slide. He grins, gently shoving at Keito. “Please, as if I would be that kind of homewrecker. Why would I knock him up when I’m waiting for my princely Watcher to knock _me_ up? Ahh, our kids would be so cute—terrible vision, but there’s magic for that—and smart. Maybe they’d be good at both music _and_ art, that’s the ticket.”

 

“Princely? Me? When you’re married to an actual prince?” At least Rei isn’t being horrible about it, just as typically incorrigible as ever. Don’t imagine what he can’t have--that’s the ticket, that’s how he can stay satisfied with his lot in life. “Any child you had with him would be far too much for me to handle. I’d _have_ to keep them in a cage, for my own sanity. And that would be too much hair.”

 

“That’s why I’m not talking about the brats I’d have with Wataru, I’m talking about the cute children I’d have with you.” _Humor me, just humor me for five seconds,_ Rei wants to beg. “You’re the kind of prince I like, the one that scolds me for being up in the tower in the first place when he comes to rescue me. Like, yeah, I know, it was my fault I’m there in the first place, but you still come to drag me off anyway. And then I have to princess carry _you_ , because your arms are like noodles.”

 

“What a useless prince,” Keito says after a long moment of considering whether pursuing this line of thought will make it worse in the long run. Fuck it. This is the archery club, his solace. “If I were writing this story, he’d have some kind of hidden talent that isn’t revealed until it’s nearly too late. And he’d...he’d break his arms trying to carry that damned ungrateful willful princess. But he wouldn’t stop trying.”

 

“Ehh, but see, that’s not useless. I mean, it’s a little over the top, I don’t want a prince that breaks his arms. He just should let me carry him once in awhile and use those hidden talents a lot more instead.”

 

“He should,” Keito agrees, “but he’s a foolish prince. Probably a third or fourth son. He doesn’t...have anything to offer a princess, not a real one with a tower and all. Princesses like that marry first-born sons--so our hero is probably a little baffled that someone like her wants to carry him around when he’s probably only good for doing her taxes or something.”

 

“Mm, but maybe he’s got a princess that’s really not good at that kind of thing. I feel like most wouldn’t be, but this one is especially bad at it. She’s _probably_ one of those kind of princesses that doesn’t want to be a princess and would be a lot happier if everyone would leave her alone with her violin. She’s probably tried to run away a few times for the sake of music, actually.” Rei isn’t quite sure when he accepted a pronoun change, but whatever. The thought remains. “Someone like that needs a prince that’s really down-to-earth and smart about all the things she’s dumb at. Having someone too fancy and loud and over the top wouldn’t end well.”

 

“Fortunately for her, this particular prince is well-accustomed to people who are loud and fancy and over-the-top,” Keito says dryly. This is dangerous and stupid, and they shouldn’t be talking like this even when they’re talking around it, but he can’t seem to stop himself. “And at least...she’ll always be safe. If she lets him protect her, that is. Because he’s not incompetent, and the youngest son is _always_ the most magical, everyone knows that. And...he’d die for her. Over and over again if he has to.”

 

“At least she’d go out of her way to try and _not_ let him die for her,” Rei grouses, pointedly hiding the way his eyes water at that. “It’s not like she wants to cause him trouble. It just happens, sometimes. I mean, her idea of a good time is definitely lying on the floor with him and talking about stupid stuff, or watching him draw, or making him listen to every single Paganini etude in succession, but _that_ only takes about an hour and a half, so time has to get filled up some other way…”

 

 _This is stupid!_ Keito’s mind shrieks at him, when he wants to say something so much worse, something that could get both of them in just an ungodly amount of trouble, something...

 

...that he can’t stop himself from saying.

 

“I can think of some ways for them to fill the other hours of the day.”

 

Rei head lifts minutely from Keito’s hair. “Does it involve kissing?” He’s reaching, and Keito is going to smack him across the face with that fan of his, but hey, that sounds fun, too. “Because it _could._ I’ve always liked the way you draw kissing.” It’s not like it’s formative or anything; it’s not like he tried to learn to kiss with that in _mind_ , either.

 

This is dangerous. They’ve only kissed once, just that one time five years ago, when they’d been young enough to excuse any indiscretions with age, but that doesn’t mean Keito doesn’t think about it most days of his life. “The princess could probably stand to teach her prince a thing or two,” he says, not meeting Rei’s eyes. “She’s got a lot more practice than him, even in her tower for so long, whereas he’s just...sort of a solitary prince, you know.”

 

“She’s been out of her tower for awhile, you mean, because she ran away off to somewhere foreign, and kissed a lot of foreign boys,” Rei wryly says. He wavers between scooting back and actually being able to see Keito’s face, or just staying where he is and talking about it instead of doing, but…he’s never been _particularly_ good at just talking about something. Hands-on is the best way. “But foreigners smell bad,” he idly adds, wriggling back enough to nose at Keito’s cheek. “And the prince always smells nice. Like tea. Incense. Magic things. So that’s highly preferable.” _Don’t hit me, don’t stop me, please._ There’s probably nothing more that Rei _wants_ right now other than getting his mouth on Hasumi Keito’s, and it’s why he moves quickly to make that happen before Keito changes his mind, sealing their lips together and making it _his_ fault that this started. Keito can’t get in as much trouble if he’s not the initiator, that’s the theory.

 

Keito has so many things he should be saying--some of them he even _wants_ to say--but damned if he can say a single thing when Rei’s mouth is on his, changing his mind about every thought he’s ever had in his life. It’s always _been_ this way, with Rei, where Rei steals his heart and leaves him blinking confused in the aftermath (usually to have it stolen again by Eichi the next minute). He can’t do anything, paralyzed by his own treacherous brain whispering, _the archery club is extraterritorial, none of the rules apply here, I can take something I want so desperately even if I have to give it up later._

 

So instead of being smart and pushing Rei away, Keito tangles his fingers in Rei’s thick dark hair, a sigh escaping through his nose as he arches up into the kiss.

 

Relief spreads through Rei’s limbs, and he’s immediately grabbing back, pulling Keito close, refusing to let him go again.

 

Keito’s mouth is warm, his lips softer than Rei always thinks they’d be, and he grabs Keito’s face in both of his hands to hold him still while he kisses him, just for a moment. It’s a lot less awkward than when he was fourteen and _stupid_ , and he’d only kissed people that also didn’t know what they were doing then, he knows that now. Enough time in Europe has convinced him there’s an art to it, and it involves getting a thorough taste of Keito’s mouth, nipping and sucking at his lips to get past them, his tongue dragging against Keito’s and then against the roof of his mouth before he draws back with a pointed suck on his tongue. Finally being able to kiss Keito like _that_ makes him shiver, his face flushing hot, and Rei can only _hope_ that Keito’s going to let him do it again.

 

Keito sucks in a breath, trying not to do anything stupid when all his first reactions feel idiotic. He blinks rapidly, watching the spells he’s put on Rei stir and flare at his touch, acknowledging their creator, and he very deliberately puts his hands on Rei’s face, squishing his cheeks together before placing another kiss soundly on his lips, leaving him looking like a fish. “Oh. We’re in trouble, aren’t we?”

 

Rei stares back at him, sort of half-lidded and dazed, and he nods, grabbing at the front of Keito’s uniform. “Yeah. Come here,” he mutters, rolling onto his back and hauling Keito swiftly on top of him.


	12. Chapter 12

Sakuma Rei’s patience for politics and orders handed down from his mother is very, very expansive, but even he has a limit.

 

That limit smacks him hard in the face when his mother insists on moving their _proper_ wedding date up. There’s apparently a million and one dissenters, from both fae and demon-kind alike, and Sakuma Airi will _not_ have her son still unattached, not officially, _completely_ wed and bonded.

 

The look on Wataru’s face makes Rei immediately sick, and he _insists_ on a private ceremony. “The insinuation that my husband has to be thrown to the wolves in front of _everyone_ —“

 

“This is a court tradition—“

 

“And he’s _mine_ , and I don’t want every fool in your kingdom to see him.”

 

The argument works, and a private room is procured.

 

That doesn’t stop Wataru from being a nervous wreck, and Rei’s limit is quickly reached. “Stay here,” Rei tells him, because he can’t do this. He literally can’t, not when Wataru is nervous, no when _neither_ of them want this, but Wataru, obviously, _definitely_ does not want this. Dropping an omamori into a corner of the room spreads his magical signature about, and Rei hoists open a window. “No one’s going to bother you—and…ah…I’m leaving, see you later!”

 

Because Wataru being terrified of the situation, of _him_ —that’s not something he can handle.

 

Escaping to the Hasumi family temple is something Rei has done on many occasions, and he has the route memorized. He’s rusty at climbing in through Keito’s window, and less quiet than he’d like, but maybe that’s better when he’s shaky and desperate and needs to see the face of someone who _doesn’t_ want to run far, far away from him.

 

“...Rei?”

 

Keito whispers the name in a perfunctory way. It’s never been anyone _else_ crawling through his window at night, after all, not for the past ten years. He’s more than accustomed to drawing aside his duvet, though the motion carries something wistful, something nostalgic as he does so. It’s been years since Rei has wanted to get into his futon like a child afraid of nightmares, but somehow, the motion just seems right tonight. Maybe it’s the energy Rei is giving off.

 

Maybe Keito just wants a reason to be close to him.

 

“Get in.”

 

Rei doesn’t hesitate. Diving into the familiar solace of Keito’s futon is second nature that he almost forgot, and he buries himself underneath the duvet, shedding shoes and coat in his wake. “Sorry,” he whispers, immediately nestling close. “Do me a favor—mask that I’m here? Please?”

 

Keito reaches up, grabbing a carefully rolled paper from under his pillow, flaring it to life with a muttered word. Golden chains, invisible to the naked eye, spring up around each entrance, sealing them in. “No one will be able to sense anything from in here,” he promises, arms coming around Rei with a pleased, surprised little swell of affection. “This...is all right? You still want to be here with me?”

 

With his patience as gone as it is, Rei knows he’s about to do something very, very stupid.

 

He doesn’t care.

 

Rei grabs at the front of Keito’s yukata, mouth pressed to his neck, pressing a long, shaky kiss there as he rolls onto his back, pulling Keito on top of him. “I want _you_.”

 

Oh.

 

This, so far, is much better than their languid kisses in the archery club room, because one very obnoxious but well-meaning first year Suou Tsukasa isn’t going to intrude--or if he does, Keito has no qualms about killing him. His mind thuds protestations at him, reminding him that Rei is not his to take or keep, that he doesn’t _get_ this just because he wants it, that much like with everything else, he’s not the most deserving one around.

 

But honestly, just for a night, fuck that voice.

 

Keito lets himself be tugged, settling his knees to the tatami mat for more leverage, leaving his hands free to roam, pushing up Rei’s shirt to trail over his torso. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs against Rei’s lips. “And so frustrating.”

 

 _Are you actually going to go through with it? This isn’t just us making out and then pretending it never happened, is it?_ Rei swallows, sagging back into the futon, and refuses to let go of Keito’s yukata, convinced he’s going to pull away at any moment. At least he knows he can drag him back by sheer strength alone, if nothing else. “I’m not being frustrating tonight,” he says with a ragged laugh, lurching up enough to steal a kiss. “I’m being honest. You could be nice.” _I really need you to be._

 

_But nothing has changed since we were fourteen, Rei._

 

The words almost come.

 

_But you’re married. But I’m in love with someone else. But my family is nothing compared to yours, but your mother will kill me, but I’ll be executed as your Watcher for abusing my position, but no good can come of it._

 

Nothing has changed, since they were fourteen...except that Keito wants Rei more now, so badly he feels like he’ll be sick if he doesn’t do something. He lets his hands rest on Rei’s waist, then nods a little, trying to stay calm when this is so exciting. “Be good if you want me to be nice.”

 

Rei huffs. The shiver that rakes down his spine just from the way Keito’s hands feel on his waist makes his toes curl, and he nods, shifting to spread his legs, trying to tug Keito between his thighs. _You’re ruining everything!_ his mind screams at him, but he can’t stop, not when his heart pounds all the way up into his throat, and Keito smells so good, his hands so oddly warm… “I’ll be good,” he rasps. “Whatever you want, I’ll be good.”

 

Keito leans down, nuzzling at Rei’s throat, behind his ear, seeking after some of the scent he’d tried to memorize in the Archery clubhouse, letting his hands move up again, splaying over Rei’s chest, rubbing and stroking at all the skin he can find. Something makes him blink, and he reaches out a hand, fumbling for his glasses. “Hold on,” he says, brow furrowed. “I think there might be some magic working on you. You probably just walked through a low-level trap, but I’d better make sure...where are those damned things...”

 

“Not right now,” Rei groans, grabbing Keito’s hand to stop him. The last thing he needs is for Keito to know what he’s _running_ from tonight. They can have that conversation later, after he’s ruined everything, after he’s fucked up so bad that even Keito will hate him. He drags Keito’s hand to his mouth instead, pressing a kiss to his palm, then deliberately sucks a finger into his mouth, his tongue dragging along it from root to tip.

 

Keito’s last thought stutters, then dies, annihilated by the hot slick pressure of that tongue.

 

Even his usual nagging thoughts fade away, and for once he feels very much like the teenage boy he is, desperately horny and determined to do something about it with the closest person that will let him--and it does seem like Rei won’t just let him, but _wants_ him to.

 

He shifts, breathing as quietly as he can, and strips off his yukata, tossing it to the side. His hands on Rei’s skin this time are more sure, and before he can stop himself, he goes for Rei’s pants, deftly unfastening a few buttons, then a zipper. “Ready to ruin our friendship?” he half-jokes.

 

“Born ready,” Rei says with a breathless little laugh, his eyes lidded as he watches Keito’s hands, licking his lips as he shifts to lift his hips, helping to wriggle his way out of his pants. His cock twitches, aching against the thin barrier of his underwear, and he reaches helplessly down to squeeze the hard line of it with a shuddering breath. “I’m gonna die if you aren’t in me. Don’t toss those pants—there’s lube in the pocket.”

 

“Of course there is,” Keito mutters without any real rancor, reaching into Rei’s pocket to wriggle out what feels like he imagines a packet of lubricant might. He blinks myopically down at it, fingers trembling. “I...”

 

He swallows hard, clearing his throat when his body pulses, completely at odds with the confusion, the indecision in his mind. No, not indecision--just inexperience, making him question every action. “Show me?” he asks, feeling helpless and very useless.

 

Keito’s uncertainty is obvious enough—Rei supposes he _knew_ that their experience in this kind of thing doesn’t quite match, but it never occurred to him in more than a passing thought. _This is your chance to be good and give him a blowjob and call it a night_ , he reminds himself, but that’s not happening, not when getting the rest of his clothes off, kicking his underwear aside and pulling his shirt off of his head is the next thing he does instead.

 

“It’s fine, come here—“ Rei lurches up, grabbing Keito by the arm to pull him closer, further between his legs, and tugs the lube from his grasp. “If you wanna watch me finger myself, I’ll do it,” he murmurs, mouthing a kiss to Keito’s shoulder. “Otherwise, I’m _gonna_ just help you put it in me.”

 

“That...” Keito wipes his mouth, where a fine bead of drool starts to form. “That sounds so sexy,” he admits, ducking his head, “but I wouldn’t be able to see it in the dark without my glasses. Don’t show off. I just want you.”

 

Keito being blind is pretty important right now, admittedly. “Another time,” Rei promises with a breathless laugh, and he rips open the packet of lube with his teeth. The stuff drips over his fingers, and he reaches down to grab Keito’s cock, his hand slick as it drags down the length of it, trying his best not to squeeze and stroke _too_ much. “Mmn, here,” he exhales, his eyes lidded as he pulls Keito forward gently, shivering when he guides the head of his cock to his hole. Just feeling it press there makes him twitch, his toes curling as he shifts to better arch his hips. “You’re not gonna hurt me, I want it so fucking bad, Keito…”

 

The first thought in Keito’s mind at hearing those words is that this is, _has_ to be, a dream. Only in his dreams does Rei say things like this, grab at him like this, kneel over him like this. But never in a dream has Rei felt hot and wet and tight around the head of his cock, sucking him in like he’s _hungry_ down there somehow, dragging a shivering groan out of his chest.

 

Somehow, he manages to make his arms work enough to grab Rei’s waist, then stroke up to his chest, remembering how much Rei likes having his chest played with. “This,” he breathes, eyes fuzzy but mind full of _Rei, Rei, Rei_ , “is the best thing I’ve ever....God, I....Rei...”

 

Keito is _so_ hard, _so_ hot inside of him as he wriggles down that Rei has to pause to suck in a full breath. It doesn’t entirely work—it just makes him squeeze down tighter without meaning to, and Rei bites down on a curse, his eyes fluttering as he gives up and shoves himself the rest of the way down before his knees can give up and buckle.

 

“Fuck,” Rei eloquently manages against Keito’s shoulder, slumping against him with a long, hard shudder. Moving seems stupid when it just feels good to have Keito _in him_ , filling him up and stretching him wide, making him squirm down a bit just to feel how full he is. His breath hiccups, and his arms drape their way around Keito’s shoulders. “G…good, yeah?” He’s not actually sure where he wants Keito’s hands next—his hips, his nipples, pulling his hair, who _cares_ , but his own nails dig into Keito’s back, insistent, overeager.

 

“S-so good...”

 

Keito is losing his mind, he must be, because what sane man could endure something like this? Certainly not him, whose opportunities for ecstasy until how have been...limited, to say the least. They’ve never been like _this_ , not with something so raw and wild, sweet and sinful all at once. Maybe they shouldn’t be doing this, but god, who the hell could care when Rei is squeezing down on him, riding him like it’s something he _wants_ to do?

 

Keito’s hands slide down to grip at Rei’s thighs thoughtlessly, leaving finger-shaped bruises in pale skin, urging him down farther, only thinking with his basest urges. “More,” he groans, eyes rolling back in his head. “I’ve got to--how do I make it good?”

 

“Already making it good,” Rei pants out, his nails scoring up over Keito’s shoulders before he gives into the urge to shove him down, flat onto his back, his hands digging into the futon on either side of his head. Rei’s thighs bunch and tremble underneath Keito’s fingers as he rocks himself up, hissing out a breath at the sweet, slick slide of Keito’s cock inside of him until he can’t stand it any longer, and he _has_ to arch back down, sinking down until he can’t go any further again. “You like me like this?” Rei’s hair swings forward over his shoulders, sweat dripping down from his hairline and beading along his jaw. His cock throbs distractingly between his legs, and he whimpers, shifting as his knees wobble, and his breath snags in his throat when that helps move Keito to a much more _accurate_ angle inside. “‘Cause…’cause you can have me any way you want me, I don’t care, I’m fucking _yours…_ ”

 

Keito lurches up for a desperate kiss, and winds up nowhere _near_ Rei’s face, all sloppy lips and tongue and teeth against his shoulder instead, taking the opportunity to _bite_ when it sounds like a good idea. Rei’s skin tastes almost disturbingly human, and Keito groans, finally letting his hips rut up the way they’ve been wanting to, grinding deep into Rei, trying to get them closer, closer, closer until there’s not the slightest hint of space between them.

 

He can feel Rei shivering in what he hopes to god is delight, and prays that he isn’t being too rough when he slams up, hearing their skin slap together in a sound he hopes he remembers on every dark night in the future. “I’m yours,” he pants, as if he’s repeating it, then shakes his head and instead groans, “You’re _mine_ , Rei. You’ve--god, you’ve always been mine, _always_ \--”

 

Keito isn’t careful with him, and that’s a relief. He needs the way Keito grabs at him, desperate and clumsy and needy, needs the way he shoves up too hard and too fast and bites at him like he _needs_ to taste his skin.

 

Or maybe it’s less of a relief, and more glorious torture that leaves Rei panting open-mouthed and trembling when Keito fucks up into him, grinding in at such a perfect angle one time out of three or four that Rei’s already misfiring nerves can’t keep up. His cock twitches and aches, dripping steadily down onto Keito’s stomach, and Rei buries his face into Keito’s neck as he slumps down against him.

 

A mistake, that’s a mistake.

 

The pulse of Keito’s blood has been a distraction since they’ve met, but right now, laced with the scent of sweat and sex, Rei’s mind fogs. God, but he’s considered being fucking stupid before, but never like this, not when Keito smells so good, when he’s saying everything right and the chance to have _exactly_ what he wants is right in front of him, plain and simple…

 

He bites, striking hard and deep, uninterested in drinking, but needing his teeth in Keito all the same when that basic, animalistic part of his brain _insists_ on it— _mine, mine, mine._

 

Keito is almost, _almost_ too far gone to feel the twinging _snap_ of some spell around him, locking something ephemeral into place--but that’s so secondary, tertiary, completely irrelevant in his mind when Rei is squeezing down on his cock and biting his neck. Dimly, he thinks that there’s a reason he shouldn’t be allowing this, but he shoves that aside too, shoves everything aside until all that matters is Rei on him, around him, touching and sucking and biting and riding him.

 

It seems impossible, but there’s no denying the way Keito feels like his cock is swelling even harder, stretching Rei’s hole to an obscene degree, drawing a strangled groan from his mouth that he tries to stifle, but his hands don’t work anymore, his arms don’t work anymore, nothing works but the thick length of his cock slipping into Rei over and over and over again, driving him mad. “M-mine,” he gasps, and he gives up, spilling deep inside of Rei with a pathetic, lingering groan that feels as if it’s taking his soul with it.

 

Rei swears he feels every bone in his body melt. Keito coming inside of him feels so intensely intimate, hot to the point he can feel every bead of sweat that drips down his spine, and gods help him, there’s nothing he can do but wriggle down as far as he can, his legs trembling from the effort to not entirely collapse, even though he _needs_ Keito in him as deep as he possibly can be.

 

 _Coming_ feels like fucking afterthought. He already feels exhausted, wrung out as if he’s been shoved to the point of orgasm twenty times over and denied, then shoved over anyway, and Rei barely processes the way he spills over Keito’s stomach. It’s hard to when every nerve in his body seems to _fizzle_ , overstimulated, out of tune, so much beyond too much, and it takes extreme effort to pry his jaw off of Keito’s neck, tasting blood on his lips and tongue but not entirely processing that, either.

 

He doesn’t really need to, not when Keito’s scent is suddenly that much stronger in his nose, his taste that much more familiar, the thrum and thud of his pulse delightfully syncing with his own.

 

 _Pet me_ , is the first thought that comes to mind. The first thing that rolls off his tongue when he flops down, floppy and useless, is not much more helpful: “You’re _good._ ”

 

Keito tries to pry his eyes open, and manages a little pathetic flutter. “You’re...bad,” he says, but the tone of his voice is light and grateful. “Rei...I didn’t expect this...”

 

But that sounds like scolding, so he turns his head, nuzzling into Rei’s shoulder. “But I’m glad it did.”

 

“…You’re saying that now,” Rei hoarsely laughs, slowly, stiffly attempting to flop to the side. It half-way works. Close enough. Maybe if he stays like this, all cuddly and sticky, Keito won’t hate him later. “Staying the night,” he murmurs, stuffing his face back into Keito’s neck. “You can’t make me leave.”

 

Keito tries to pat Rei’s back, and doesn’t even manage a twitch. Whatever. “You can stay,” he mumbles, “as long as you don’t expect me to move.”

 

“Nope.” Rei half-heartedly grabs for the duvet, then gives up. Close enough, yet again. “Just move in the morning when the sun comes up to close your window shades, I don’t wanna get crispy.”

 

“Just let me lay on you.”

 

“Too skinny. I’ll get tan lines.”

 

“You deserve. Them.” It takes a moment to finish the thought, and Keito gives up, letting sleep take his trembling, aching, exhausted body.


	13. Chapter 13

Rei wakes to being intolerably famished.

 

Sun trickles in through Keito’s open window, and it makes Rei shift that much closer, burrowing underneath the duvet with a soft groan. The sound ends up muffled against Keito’s arm, where his teeth are already latched—a habit that he thought for sure he had grown out of, but putting his mouth on Keito in his sleep can’t be helped when Keito smells so _good_ …

 

Rei inhales slowly through his nose, his eyes lidded as he dislodges his mouth, licking at his lips. The taste of Keito’s blood might not be there (he hadn’t bitten down in his sleep, not really), but the scent of him is enough to drive him mad. Warm, deliciously fragrant… _his_. The latter thought is a reminder that makes him shiver, and Rei nuzzles pointedly into Keito’s neck again, still too sleepy to think that’s a bad thing. “Keito. Nn, Keeeito. Mornin’.”

 

Keito moves almost instinctively, snuggling against the warm body against his--not warm like the warmth of an animal, but of something warmed by the sun after hours in the light, even if they’ve been inside this whole time. He mouths a kiss against Rei’s head, turning his head when he gets a mouthful of hair. “Meh. Morning, Rei.”

 

He dimly senses that Rei is naked in his arms, and his lips curl, arms tightening protectively. It should feel way worse, way more strange, different, but it just feels natural, like an inevitable conclusion.

 

“Your window is mean to me.” Rei stifles a yawn, pawing a hand slowly against Keito’s back. “Make the sun stop so I can chew on you more.”

 

Keito smiles, blinking fuzzily up at Rei. “Let go of me, and I’ll go shut the window.”

 

“No. I like holding you.”

 

“Then enjoy crisping.” Rei won’t die, of course. Keito has too many charms on him for that.

 

“Ugh.” Rei flops slowly to the side with a long, heaving yawn. “Fine. Go on, then. But I’m hungry, so hurry back so I can feast. You smell _so_ good.”

 

Keito grabs his glasses, clicking them onto his face as he finally stands, body twinging in odd places, seldom-used muscles in his core protesting being used at last. He draws the blinds down and closes them, and stretches in the dimness, content and relaxed as he turns around.

 

That’s when he sees it.

 

The spell chain stretches from Rei’s chest, vibrating faintly, looping once through the air before plunging into his own. It doesn’t pulse with the gold light of his own magic, but a crimson shade over something similar, red-gold shining even in the darkness. His eyes go wide, and his jaw goes slack. Somehow, someone has managed to enchant both of them during the night, when they’re most vulnerable. “No, no, no--hold still, don’t move, don’t _breathe_ \--”

 

“Huh?” Rei blinks sleepily up at him, his eyes rapidly adjusting to the dimmed light. Then it occurs to him what Keito is talking about and—that’s the beginning of the end, isn’t it?

 

There’s no use apologizing. He’s not sorry, anyway, but more than that, an apology isn’t going to take it back or _change_ anything. He stifles another yawn as he hauls himself up into a sitting position, raking a hand back through his hair. “You can’t break it,” he languidly says. “If you try, it’ll hurt like a bitch, so please don’t.”

 

Keito chokes down a protest, fingers tingling with magical power when he reaches up to the chain. Rei hardly needs to tell him--he can feel the cool solidity of the spellwork himself, as obviously as if he’d found a physical chain, and almost as strong. “Oh, oh god.”

 

He knows this spell. He knows what it is, has studied it since Rei was married. “A Communion Chain,” he whispers, heart sinking. “Oh...Rei...” He swallows hard, feeling very cold. “Rei, you’ve gotten me killed.”

 

“I have _not_.” Keito sounds so certain of it that Rei _has_ to move, lurching up to grab for Keito’s arm and drag him back down next to him. “No one’s going to touch you,” he insists. It doesn’t sound as convincing as Rei would like, and that’s frustrating. “You’re mine. I…last night, my mother tried to rush the ceremony with Wataru along. I couldn’t do it, I left, and the spellwork was still active, so I…” His fingers tighten. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. That’s the important thing.”

 

Keito’s fingers feel numb, but he doesn’t protest or struggle. It seems too late for that now. His arms and legs feel awkward, gangly, as if he can’t possibly use them for self-defense or running away, certainly not against a creature like Sakuma Airi. “You can’t stop her. You know you can’t. She’s like a force of nature.”

 

“I can stop her.” At least, in theory, but the idea does make Rei nervous. He tugs Keito closer, protective even if his mother isn’t here to try and kill them both, and his fingers tremble where they clamp down on Keito’s wrist. It’s so much easier to tell what a _frail_ sort of human Keito is now, so much easier to count the breakable little pieces of him, and that’s nothing short of terrifying. “Keito—I…I know you must think I’m an idiot, that this is the worst—but we can run away. We can go overseas, I have friends there. I have friends _here_ that would help us get there and keep my mother back. Ritsu, he would help, too.”

 

Keito opens his mouth, but he gasps, stomach suddenly twisting in the most abominable hunger he’s ever felt. He pitches forward slightly, going green around the gills, leaning against Rei. “A-ah, oh, god, I think--I think she might have cursed me already, I feel so weak...”

 

“Ah…no,” Rei manages with a little laugh, giving Keito’s back a gentle rub. “She wouldn’t waste her time cursing you from afar, she’d come right for us both. I think you’re just getting sympathy pangs, I’m really hungry.”

 

Keito straightens up, blinking, confused. “This...is hunger? This is, ahhh, this is how you feel? Whenever you’re hungry? You ate last _night_ \--”

 

Rei scoffs, and pokes at the dark bruise on Keito’s neck. “I _bit you_ , I didn’t drink. And even when I _do_ drink, assuming whatever I usually take from you is enough is like saying a human’s satisfied after eating a candy bar or something.”

 

Keito starts to make a smart retort, but stops when the pang shoots through him again, making him double over and clutch at his stomach. “Ugh, I _hate_ this...this is awful, I can’t feel like this all the time. Take a drink or I’m going to vomit.”

 

“…Keito is so surprisingly delicate,” Rei says with a blink, his head tilting as he watches. Then, he shrugs, grabs Keito by the shoulder and shoves him flat onto his back before prowling over him. “Neck? Thigh? Mmn, you smell even better now,” he sighs, his eyes fluttering as he noses against Keito’s neck. “Let me just…”

 

Sinking his teeth into Keito’s neck is all the more satisfying now. That doesn’t seem fair, because biting Keito has _always_ been good; now, it makes warmth spread through all the way to the tips of his fingers and toes, and Rei shudders as he gulps down a mouthful, then another, and the sort of vague, weary dizziness that always plagues him when he’s hungry filters away faster than he’s _ever_ felt it do so before. He draws back with a breathless, ragged noise, licking at his lips, staring down at Keito with something akin to disbelief on his face. “No _wonder_ my mom’s never hungry,” he says, amazed. “Ahh, that’s so convenient…”

 

The hunger pangs fade, and Keito sucks in a shuddering breath, feeling the blackness recede from his vision. He expects to flop down to the ground, but for some reason, it doesn’t happen. He blinks slowly, feeling a delicious pleasure spread through his body, but it energizes instead of enervates for once, making him feel more aware, his pulse slower but steady. “Oh,” he breathes. “That’s...not terrible.”

 

Rei’s eyes are bright, and the look on his face shifts to the equivalent of a dog slowly, eagerly starting to wag its tail courtesy of the simplest approval. “Right? It feels good, doesn’t it? Mmn, if it doesn’t affect you as much now, that’s good…especially if it doesn’t take very much at _all_ to make me stop being hungry…” He leans down, nuzzling at Keito’s neck, kissing where he bit, infinitely pleased with himself. “That means I can _just_ drink from you…”

 

“For a week or so, until they kill me and make you take another bride,” Keito says, though it doesn’t have quite the glum terror that he’d been anticipating, not when he still feels so good. “Get up, we’ve got to pack.”

 

“No one’s going to kill you, you’re mine.” Rei doesn’t budge an inch. He settles down instead, nuzzling up to Keito’s ear next, sucking on the lobe of it. “Mmn, we can pack later, it’s daytime. My mom won’t even _look_ for me until tonight—“

 

Keito’s fan whips up, jamming between Rei’s teeth as he says sternly, “Which is why we start running _now_ , before they’re looking for us. Destination? I don’t have a passport.”

 

Rei huffs, dislodging his teeth with a grumpy little growl. “We can head up to Hokkaido first,” he says, carefully poking at one of his fangs to make sure it didn’t end up chipped. “But I need to talk to a few friends…and Ritsu, I can’t go anywhere without talking to him first.”

 

“And if he turns you in?” Keito demands, opening a drawer and starting to pack some clothing. “He hasn’t been fond of you lately, and Isara says he’s not responding to his calls.”

 

“He hasn’t been fond of my _mother_ lately. We can both agree on that,” Rei wearily explains, sitting back to watch Keito. “He won’t turn me in, he loves me. He’ll want to run away, too.”

 

“If you don’t start packing soon, I’m leaving without you,” Keito says flatly. “You can talk to Ritsu when you’re ready to go, just in case you’re wrong.”

 

“You can’t leave without me.” Rei slowly flops back down onto his side. “You’re so intent on running, you didn’t even _assume_ I’d try to kill my mother and take control of everything for the sake of keeping you at my side…ahh…I thought Keito was more of a romantic…”

 

Keito pushes up his glasses, feeling his heart flutter a little. “I...” He pushes his hair back behind his ears, cheeks coloring. “I thought eloping was very romantic, actually. I’m sure I would have said that out loud eventually.”

 

“But does it count as eloping when you don’t have a choice?” Rei’s eyes lid, even as they stay locked on Keito. “It’s fine if you’re mad at me.” 

 

Keito’s phone vibrates, then chimes with the tone that Rei explicitly associates with only Tenshouin Eichi’s messages, and he suppresses the urge to roll his eyes. “Better get that.”

 

“In a minute.”

 

Keito takes two steps, crossing to Rei and grabbing his hair, forcing him to look up. “I’m...angry,” he admits, mouth twitching. “I’m angry because you...I mean, you probably got me killed. We can talk about running away and defeating your mother and whatever else all you want, but we both know I’m almost certainly dead, and you don’t seem bothered. She’s not the only one who would benefit from me being dead, Rei. The Faerie people could easily see me as a traitor or a spy or see this as an act of war--your mother doesn’t even have to kill me herself, she could send one of her many assassins, and you don’t seem to _care_. I can’t defend myself the way you can, Rei--and it’s not you that’s in trouble, it’s _me_.”

 

Rei’s lips part, and he hesitates, his gaze flicking sideways for a moment as he picks through his words carefully. “I _know_ you think I’m not bothered,” he slowly says, “and that this was just some stupid, impulsive decision of mine—but it isn’t. I mean, yes, this was impulsive, it wasn’t supposed to be like this, exactly…but it isn’t as if I haven’t played through something like this in my mind a million times over, and it does _not_ end with you dying.” His eyes slide back up to meet Keito’s gaze. “The insinuation I can’t—that I _wouldn’t_ protect you is rather insulting. That’s why I’m not acting as if this is terribly urgent. It doesn’t change how I’m going to react either way.”

 

Conflict flares in Keito’s mind, and he grinds his teeth, not sure how to get through to Rei when a very significant part of himself... “I can’t say I’m not glad it happened,” he admits, stomach twisting. “Because I...”

 

The phone beeps again, giving him the excuse he needs to back out, and he finally looks down.

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: Sooo**

**Just a head’s up because I like you~ I kidnapped Wataru (ww). I figured you already reported a lot of my plans but I bet you didn’t expect this one!**

 

Keito stares down at the screen, and slowly sinks to his knees. Then, a bubbling snort of laughter bubbles up from his stern features. “This is a hot holy mess.”

 

Rei blinks, tugging his hair free of Keito’s grasp to scoot closer and try to catch a glimpse of the phone. Boy, he’s going to have to get used to _feeling_ Keito’s reactions so clearly; it was one thing to be able to smell them before just through the way Keito’s pulse changes, but this is on another level. “What is? Tell me, what did he do, he didn’t do anything to Ritsu, did he?”

 

“No, no, it’s not about your precious little brother,” Keito grumbles. Quite a bit of his struggles at a young age were caused by said precious little brother, but he mutely shuts off his phone. “Eichi’s kidnapped Wataru. Does this Communion Chain--will Wataru be affected the same way as you if he has...relations with someone?” _With Eichi._

 

It isn’t as if he doesn’t know that Eichi sleeps with other people. That doesn’t stop the sick lurch in his chest, the heartsore ache in his throat even so.

 

“…Yes.” Rei’s just going to have to ignore the way that Keito laments about Eichi for a moment, because quite frankly—“This could fix everything.” He pauses. “I can’t believe I’m saying that about something Tenshouin did.”

 

Keito rubs the bridge of his nose in a way that he usually doesn’t need to do until late afternoon at least. “At least this might mean this isn’t...all my fault, if Eichi’s done the same thing. And if the Fae attack, your mother might, _might_ , not want you to have a brand new Watcher right now.”

 

“…Keito, you know she sleeps with her Watchers, right?” Rei sits back onto his heels, staring at him. “And she’s always been very aware that I drink from you. The only reason she would have to kill you is because she sees you as a threat for a political marriage, and if Wataru is out of the picture, then at most she’s going to try and eat you because she’s annoyed with me. I can _handle_ that.”

 

For a split second, emotions war in Keito’s mind, chasing each other in circles. Could it...could it be like this? Could it be like something he could actually...

 

Could Rei be someone he could actually have?

 

One emotion wins, and Keito lunges forward, pinning Rei to the ground, kissing him harder than he’d ever dared, hands clutching, grabbing at Rei’s neck, arms, waist, hair, because dammit, this all _is_ terribly romantic, and he’s weak as hell to that nonsense.

 

Oh, shit, did he say something right for a change?

 

Most things in his head sound a lot better there than when he actually says them. Maybe, for once, that isn’t the case, judging by how Keito grabs at him and kisses him, shoving him down like he’s going to die if he doesn’t get to touch more of him. Keito’s pulse is already thrumming fast, and being able to hear it, smell it, _feel it_ even without Keito being pressed up against him makes Rei pant for a full breath, sucking in the same air that Keito breathes against his mouth.

 

Rei’s hands paw up Keito’s spine, his nails flexing against the lean, long lines of his back, and he arches up to kiss Keito back with more teeth and tongue than he’s ever allowed himself, a ragged, pleased groan caught in his throat.

 

Keito shoves Rei down to the tatami mat, grabbing at Rei’s shoulders and pinning him to the ground. “You want me to be romantic?” he demands, ripping his glasses off of his face, tossing them to the side. “Tell me you love me. I’ll show you romantic.”

 

“I love you.” There’s not a second of hesitation between Keito’s command and the time it takes for Rei to open his mouth, but his face is flushed and hot afterwards anyway, and it’s probably good that Keito can’t clearly see him. “I…I know you probably think I picked you because it was convenient or something terrible like that, but that’s not true—I love you, I’m _in_ love with you, the w-worst night of my life was when I had to get married to someone that wasn’t you and you barely would even text me afterwards—“

 

This is more than Keito had expected, and his forehead thunks down against Rei’s chest in utter embarrassment. All he can manage is, “I...hate texting, you know that. Idiot. You stupid, _stupid_ idiot, why are you always doing things that make my life hard when you could be saying things like this? Don’t you know how much of my life I spend _chasing_ you? Because I _love_ you?”

 

“…I figured it was just because it was your job,” Rei admits with a wet little laugh. He hesitates now, because the elephant in the room isn’t something he ever wants to bring up, but… “And because…you’re…I thought it was pointless to try, because of Tenshouin.”

 

Ah. Gross. Talking about it. But to be fair, Keito had been the one to bring it up, years ago. “I...love him, too,” he admits, because it would be a lie to deny it, and stupid when Rei knows him so well. “You know that. I don’t hide it. You’re...going to have to deal with it, honestly. But I decided years ago not to go after him.”

 

“If you aren’t going after him, then there’s nothing to deal with.” That’s as good as it’s going to get, and that’s _fine_. He could go into a spiel about how much he loves Ritsu, but little will ever come of that, and so this feels like a fair trade, somehow. Rei’s eyes lid and he squirms to grab Keito’s face, pulling it up to kiss him again. “I already stole you, anyway,” he cheerfully points out. “There’s nothing you can do.”

 

Keito’s hands come up, pressing against Rei’s face firmly, making it gape like a fish. “There’s one thing I can do,” he corrects. “I can promise that you’re my only. Promise me the same, and I’ll be thrilled to die together if it comes to that. I’ve always wanted to die for you.”

 

“…But I don’t want you to die,” Rei protests, twisting his head against Keito’s always surprisingly firm grasp. He grabs at one of Keito’s wrists with a huff. “You ask me for that promise as if anyone else would have me,” he murmurs. “Keito, why are you like this?”

 

“...because I’m too embarrassed to show you the love songs I’ve written you?” Keito asks, only half-joking. All right, not joking at all, but hopefully the wry tone makes it sound like a joke.

 

“Oh, fuck you. You can’t say that and not show me.” Rei sniffs, and surges against Keito’s hold again, snapping his teeth at his hand. “We can trade.”

 

Keito’s face flames, and he buries his face in Rei’s neck. “Why are you like this? I didn’t beat you enough as a child.”

 

“You can still beat me up now,” Rei sing-songs, and once free, his mouth immediately finds a way to get back to Keito’s neck. “Keeeeito, I’ll be your one and only if you promise to keep me satisfied in the way that I’ve become accustomed~”

 

Rei is obviously expecting a flippant response, and Keito wants to give him one--until the idea that maybe, just maybe, he could make Rei blush enters his mind. Carefully, he leans in, and says seriously, “As long as you can be satisfied with my body and heart, my love.”

 

It takes a moment for that reply to _really_ sink in, and Rei feels his face slowly, deeply turn red. That’s new. Isn’t he supposed to be the terrible flirt, the one that flusters his friends and teases people like _Keito_ constantly? “Shit,” he mumbles, covering his face with both of his hands. “That’s not fair. You…you aren’t fair…”

 

Keito smiles in a way he hasn’t done since Deadmanz disbanded. “I was teasing you a little, but...you are _very_ lovely when you blush.”

 

“I’ll eat you alive. I’m pale, it doesn’t take a lot!” Rei peers out from behind his hands, his eyes narrowing contemplatively before he dives suddenly to the side, snatching up his own phone and hurriedly taking a picture. “ _Got it._ Your smiling face, I win.”

 

“No one will believe that isn’t doctored.”

 

“Pfft, like I’m showing it to anyone. It’s for my eyes only.”

 

Keito sniffs. “The fact that you think you need a record means you think you won’t make me happy.”

 

“I cry when I’m happy, and you glare when you’re happy, don’t lie.” Rei tosses his phone aside and grabs for Keito again. “I _have_ known you for awhile now.”

 

“Then you’d think you wouldn’t have to keep giving me heart attacks,” Keito says, full of false sadness. “But apparently, this is on purpose.”

 

“Eh? No, I don’t do it on purpose. It’s a natural gift.”

 

“If it’s a gift, I want the receipt.”

 

“For someone so Japanese, you’re _so_ rude.”

 

“For someone so European, you blush too easily.”

 

“That’s enough out of you. Be nice and make out with me.”

 

“I’ll make out with you...” Keito presses Rei back down to the tatami mat, eyes glinting even without his glasses. “But I won’t promise to be nice.”


	14. Chapter 14

Ritsu hasn’t answered his phone in a week, nor has he checked in, and if Isara Mao were more consumed with being a Watcher and Ritsu didn’t live down the street…well, he might be more concerned, especially with what has been going on in the Underworld lately.

 

As it is, he knows Ritsu is alive and well, can sense it through the little lattices of spellwork left on his person, and so he lets it slide. Ritsu, in general, behaves himself. He’s a good kid, a _sweet_ kid, and it’s his older brother that’s the problem…

 

Theoretically.

 

When Mao walks into his bedroom after a long day at school and practice, however, and sees Ritsu in the middle of the floor surrounded by just about every spellbook he owns, Mao starts to rethink that. He stands in the doorway, staring, and heaves a long-suffering sigh, shutting his eyes as he shuts the door behind himself. “Ritchan. What are you _doing._ ”

 

Ritsu looks up, and for just a moment, wants to run to Mao, latching onto him with all four limbs, kissing his neck and getting pushed away just like it’s always been. But...

 

But Mao hasn’t even noticed. In a month, he hasn’t checked in, hasn’t cared to pester him at school, hasn’t sat him down and tried to figure out what’s going on with him, hasn’t tried to pull him out of the darkness that sends him ever downward, so...

 

So instead of running to Mao, he throws up a hand, trying out a spell he’d found, a shadowy net stretching over the doorway, keeping Mao from coming forward. “Maa~kun is late. Quiet, I’m reading.”

 

“Wh—Ritsu, where did you learn…” The _good_ thing about being Ritsu’s Watcher is that he’s never had to deal with Ritsu _wanting_ to know a ton of magic. Cooking with it is one thing; that’s more or less harmless (and delicious, if not terrifying). That’s why this is another level of annoying, and Mao scowls, banishing the spell after fumbling for a paper ofuda stuffed into the pocket of his hoodie, slapped forward against it and sending it splintering off to the shadows again. “You can’t do things like that,” he scolds, striding forward into the room, stepping over the piles of books. “And you can’t read this stuff, that’s part of the deal. Come on, get up, I have to clean all this up before anyone finds out.”

 

Ritsu considers for a moment, then shakes his head. “Nah. I’m gonna keep doing this. Maa~kun doesn’t care enough to stop me.”

 

“Yeah, I do.” Mao bends, scooping up an armful of books out from underneath Ritsu’s nose. “If you’re not gonna help, I’ll just do it myself, but you can’t keep reading this stuff.”

 

“Maa~kun.” Ritsu sits back, eyes burning sullenly red and resentful, glaring up at Mao. “If you wanna stay safe...get out of town for a week. That’s the only warning you’re gonna get.”

 

“Uh huh,” Mao wearily says, shelving his books again and sneezing at the dust that rises up from them. This is worse than _pollen._ “And what’s gonna happen for a week?”

 

“Not for a week. In under a week.” Ritsu’s fingers glow with dark shadows, and he itches to practice his newfound spells again. “There’s gonna be a new leader of the underworld. I’m gonna be the new Queen or whatever.”

 

“King. You’re a boy,” Mao absently corrects, and then pauses, actually processing what Ritsu is saying. He turns, frowning at him. “Ritsu, you shouldn’t joke about that kind of thing.”

 

“Yeah. It’s a joke. Ha, ha, we’re gonna kill my mom.”

 

“Who’s ‘we’?” Mao’s frown deepens. “Ritsu, what are you even talking about? I know your mother can be a little overbearing, but you shouldn’t joke about wanting to _kill_ her…”

 

“Yeah. Overbearing. That’s it.”

 

Ritsu sits back, pushes his hair out of his face, and asks, “Maa~kun, what does your Mom say to you before bed?”

 

Mao eyes him for a moment longer, then shrugs, bending down to snatch up another handful of books. It’s so hard to tell when Ritsu really is joking, and even now, he’s not _entirely_ sure. “‘Good night, sleep tight’? Or ‘sleep well, have good dreams’, things like that…why?”

 

Ritsu tilts his head slowly to the side. “Yeah...my mom tucked me in twice my whole life. Once she said she should have killed me as a baby. The other time she came in by mistake and woke me up by putting spiders in my bed. And I’m the kid she _likes_.”

 

Ritsu exaggerates about a lot of things, Mao knows. His mother is…definitely something else (pretty scary, actually), but hearing this kind of stuff is always… “Okay. Yeah, that sounds terrible, but…” Mao stows the books, and crouches down, tilting his head to catch Ritsu’s eyes. “That doesn’t mean you should _kill_ her. You know you can always stay over here with me if you’re really unhappy, and your brother’s home now, so he helps, too, right?”

 

Ritsu’s face twists, and he looks away, angry and sick. “She’s using him. She made him--she made him get married and didn’t even invite me. She knows I’d have objected. So she did it when I was practicing with Knights.”

 

Suddenly, Mao wishes he paid a _little_ bit more attention to the Underworld. Hearing about this kind of stuff vaguely when Keito tries to update him is one thing; actually processing it is another, and he grimaces, wiping a hand down his face. “Okay.” _Wish I’d heard more details about that, but okay._ “Just because he’s married doesn’t mean he’s out of the picture. I mean, it’s pretty normal for people to get married? And he was gonna have to, right, because he’s the heir?”

 

“He’s eighteen,” Ritsu snaps. “And she gave him away to an alien. He’s not even _one_ of us--she promised me! She promised me I could have him!” It’s more than he’d ever meant to let slip to Mao, but what’s the point of keeping his secrets anymore?

 

Whoo, boy. This sounds like stuff from the demon world that Mao will just _never_ understand, and he tries not to let that show on his face too visibly. “Umm…Ritchan…” Mao hedges, kneeling in front of him and reaching out to grab his hands. “This is your brother that we’re talking about, right? Why would your mom say something like that? Maybe you just, ah, misunderstood—“

 

Ritsu gives up, and slumps onto the ground, head to the floor. “Maa~kun won’t ever understand. We’re royalty, you know. Royalty has to stay pure. And Maa~kun doesn’t love me back, so who cares if I fall in love with my brother?”

 

“W-wha…Ritsu, c’mon, sit up, don’t lie on the floor when you’re in the middle of explaining something weird,” Mao hastily protests, his cheeks flushing at the sudden sort-of confession. It’s pretty par for the course with Ritsu, but it’s hard to be stuck on that when Ritsu’s _also_ admitting to some pretty weird things. “Are you…are you seriously trying to kill your mom because she won’t let you marry your brother?” He can’t believe he’s asking that question, actually.

 

Ritsu’s lip wobbles. “It’s all over,” he whispers, tears starting to stream from his eyes, and he squeezes them tightly shut. “It’s--it’s over, she did it. She put the Communion Chain on them last night because of the stupid war--so Ecchan and me are gonna stop her, because...it’s too late.”

 

“Ecchan—the President? What is he…” Mao trails off, shutting his eyes briefly before he reaches down, firmly grabbing Ritsu’s face in his hands. “You can’t kill your mother,” he says. “I know you’re sad that your brother had to get married, but you can’t kill your mother. That’s bad. It’ll start a lot more problems. I don’t know what the President told you, but he doesn’t need to be involved in this either.”

 

Ritsu turns so he can lay facedown. Everything is over. Mao will report him--he has to, as a Watcher--and Ritsu doesn’t have the backbone to stop him, so Eichi will get rid of him, too. “You’ve gotta do your duty, Maa~kun,” he mumbles. “You’re supposed to kill me now, right? Treason and stuff. It’s on page 39 of your Watcher book. I stole a look.”

 

Mao sighs. “I’m not gonna kill you.” He scoots closer, petting a hand down Ritsu’s back. “You’ve gotta be good, though. No killing. If you can promise me you aren’t going to go to do that, I won’t say a thing and I’ll just report the President instead.”

 

The tears won’t stop this time, and Ritsu doesn’t try. “But...Ecchan is a human, and his family is important. So they’re gonna execute him, and it’s gonna start a war with the humans. Does Maa~kun want that kind of blood on his hands?”

 

“Or they’ll jail him or something _because_ he’s important and no one wants another fight,” Mao points out, biting his lip as Ritsu just starts crying _more._ “Ritchan…c’mon, don’t cry, you know I gotta report him. He’s been putting some weird ideas in your head I bet, he does that, I know you wanna be good, right?”

 

“Maa~kun thinks too much of me.” Ritsu’s voice is wet and broken, and he buries his face in his hands. “It was my idea. But I’m important, so they can’t execute me. They’ll kill Ecchan. Maa~kun’s the only one that can get away with putting me down.”

 

He sniffs, the tears spilling out hot now. “N-no one likes me best, b-but I was gonna at least be important.”

 

“That’s not true, Ritsu! You know…you know I like you the most, you know that,” Mao insists, grabbing for a nearby box of tissues and ripping out a handful. He tips Ritsu’s face up, drying to dab some of his tears away. “You’re still important no matter what. You’re a demon prince; you never wanted to be the king, you always told me you hated that idea, that it sounded like a lot of work.”

 

“Y-yeah.” Ritsu blows obediently into the tissues, slumping over to rest his head on Mao’s thigh. “Maa~kun likes his unit best of all, though. He doesn’t do his Watcher duties anymore. At least Ecchan pays attention to me.”

 

“Ritsu…I never _really_ did them in the first place…” Mao points out, smoothing Ritsu’s hair with another sigh. “I just had to study a lot at first to catch up, that’s all. And you’ve always been good, so I didn’t have to do much, anyway. The President might be paying attention to you, but it sounds like it’s in a bad way, and…and I _did_ keep trying to call you and talk to you, you’re the one that wouldn’t answer his phone. You gotta be good and try a little.”

 

Ritsu’s face clouds over, and he thumps a hand gently against Mao’s shoulder. “No! You’re my _Watcher_ , you’re supposed to be all up in my business whether I try or not! That’s how my mom’s Watchers do it, that’s how Keikkun does it! I’m not supposed to be able to start a dark pact that’s gonna end the world for a _month_ before you check on me!”

 

Mao stares at him, his mouth falling open, and he asks, bluntly, “Are you seriously trying to end the world because you thought I was ignoring you for my band?”

 

“...I mean, when you say it like _that_ it doesn’t sound smart.”

 

“You know where I live, right. Like, right down the road from your house? Like I have for years. If you thought I was ignoring you, you could have come to bother me. Or _answered your phone._ ” Mao leans forward, glowering at him. “Ritchan. You’re being terrible.”

 

Ritsu shrugs. “So? No one’s gonna stop me.” Mao has never exactly subscribed to Keito’s theory of baby demons needing discipline, and certainly no one else has ever tried to tell him a damn thing about behaving himself.

 

“Wrong. I’m gonna stop you. I already told you, I won’t report you if you behave yourself, but now I’m not sure if I can trust you.”

 

Ritsu glowers at Mao, flopping back to the floor. “Maa~kun should stop me himself, though. Don’t tell my _mom_ , use your spells and stop me, or I’m gonna go to Ecchan and attack before you can report it.”

 

Mao huffs. “Fine.”

 

He climbs to his feet, and plucks at one of the thin cords of spellwork running latticed across the room—which promptly coalesces into a net underneath where Ritsu flops. It tightens and hauls him up, effectively dangling him from the ceiling. “You can stay there,” Mao says, bending down to scoop up the last of his books still scattered about, “until you prove you’ll behave yourself, or until I deal with everything that’s going on—whatever happens first.”

 

“Bull,” Ritsu protests, struggling against the bonds, finding them a lot more effective than he’d anticipated. “Maa~kun never handles anything--oi, where are you going? What are you gonna--what are you gonna do?” Suddenly, the idea of Mao not only trying to stop _him_ , but his brother and his mother, is enough to make him sweat profusely.

 

“I told you—I’m going to report the President, and I’m going to keep you safe by keeping you here if I have to.” Mao turns to look up at him, and heaves a long sigh at the sight of Ritsu trapped in a net and dangling in his room. “Ritchan, you’ve _gotta_ be good. If I can’t trust you will be, then I’m _gonna_ leave you here, that’s how it has to be.”

 

Ritsu tries to turn to look at him, but the lack of gravity working on him is _annoying_ , and he just flops pathetically for a minute. “Maa~kun...” He takes in a breath, and tries to be serious, not just sad, even if sad is all he wants to be. “You can’t. Someone’s gonna kill you if you go do this. Either Ecchan or his new army or the Fae or even Mom for interfering or for not doing a good job with me.”

 

“No, someone’s gonna _kill me_ if you aren’t kept safe.” Mao lifts a hand to wearily rub at the bridge of his nose. “Ritsu. You’re the most important thing, you know? If I can keep you safe, that’s all that matters. I’m your Watcher; if you didn’t want me to die, then you shouldn’t have been throwing yourself into these kinds of situations in the first place!”

 

“But it’s too late!” Ritsu’s voice is torn from his throat, and he grabs at the net, trying to shred it with his fingernails. “It’s too late, he’s gonna attack, he found out who Aniija married and he’s gone _nuts_ , I was here trying to figure out how to stop him!”

 

“If you really think the President’s gonna do something, then you need to _tell me_ instead of rummaging through my books and trying to handle it yourself,” Mao insists, wavering for a moment, contemplating just letting Ritsu down—but no, no, he has to stand strong on this! “If you tell me what he’s _doing_ , it’s a lot easier to fix it.”

 

Ritsu glares out of the net, sagging down against the magic strings. “How come your magic got better?” he accuses. “You didn’t use to be good at corporeal forms. I should be able to bite through this. Maa~kun’s been holding out on me.”

 

“Ritsu. Are you gonna tell me anything or—you know what, never mind,” Mao suddenly says, turning around to head towards the door again. “You just stay there, I’ll report everything, I guess I don’t _really_ need your explanation when you’re being bratty, anyway…”

 

“Wait! Maa~kun, wait!” Ritsu flings out a desperate spell, leaving a pathetic little scorch mark on the door. Damn, the net even blocks magic, for the most part? Maa~kun really has practiced. “You could _die_ \--I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you, just don’t go!”

 

Mao lingers at the door. Maybe Keito is onto something—baby demons might need a _little_ bit of a firmer hand after all. “Okay. I’m not going.” He turns around, flopping back against the door to peer up at Ritsu, arms crossed over his chest. “You can start with all of this stuff about the President, and go from there. Once you’ve told me everything, _then_ I’ll let you down.”

 

Ritsu takes a breath, and betrays someone else he loves. “He wants to make trouble,” he recites, fingers tangled in the magical chains that feel corporeal, though he knows they’d feel like nothing at all to a human. This particular spell is only effective against demons like him, which makes it a nonetheless technically competent spell. “I was mad at my stupid mom, so I told Ecchan I’d be his Patron if he took her out first. He decided to start a war. I dunno everything he did, but I know there’s a lot of dead demons, and he just kidnapped my brother’s faerie bride.”

 

Mao stares at him, long and hard. It’s difficult to process _that_ much chaos and generally bad news at once, as if it’s a game of bad behavior mad libs that Ritsu is playing to purposefully be terrible. “…You’re serious,” he slowly manages. “You…you’re actually serious. Ritchan…” He exhales, long and hard, and wipes a hand slowly down his face. “First of all, you can’t be the President’s Patron anymore. That’s stopping now.”

 

Ritsu shrugs. “If you make me stop,” he warns, “he’ll make the Faerie do it instead. And I dunno what’ll happen if he does that, Fae have weird powers and he’s got a captive one.”

 

“A faerie isn’t my problem. _You_ are.”

 

Even if he says that, Mao…well, this seems pretty far out of his league. He gnaws on his lower lip as he fishes out his cellphone from the pocket of his hoodie. “You’re gonna stop. That’s nonnegotiable, seriously. And…and as for the President, he’s gonna stop, too, we’re going to see to it before this gets even worse.”

 

**To: Hasumi Keito**

**Subject: ???**

**I just found out some pretty bad stuff about Tenshouin-san?? Please tell me you already know about it, he apparently kidnapped Sakuma-san’s husband…????**

 

**To: Isara**

**Subject: .**

**welcome to the headache. this is hell.**

 

Ritsu blinks slowly. “What’s Maa~kun gonna do?” He leans forward, eyes opening wide, a little excited. “Are you gonna do something really cool? Can I watch?”

 

“No, you can’t _watch_ ,” Mao exasperatedly replies. “Geez, Ritsu, could you at least have a little bit of shame for being involved in this mess?”

 

**To: Hasumi Keito**

**Subject:**

**Any advice? Ritsu’s involved. I can’t keep him locked up forever—or should I??? Hasumi-san, you’re much better at handling this kind of thing than I am…**

 

“I’m super shamed,” Ritsu assures him, unable to keep the eagerness out of his voice. “Totally embarrassed. Are you gonna ride out to war? Are you gonna wear armor and stuff? Are you gonna throw spells around?”

 

**To: Isara**

**Subject:**

**we should meet. time n plance.**

 

**To: Isara**

**Subject:**

**place**

 

Texting with Keito is, as usual, pointless, and Mao heaves a sigh, staring up at Ritsu before he turns towards the door again. “You know what, Ritchan? You stay up there. I’ll be back later tonight.”

 

**To: Hasumi Keito**

**Subject: your temple?**

**I can be there in 20 mins.**

 

“Maa~kun, nooooo! I’m hungry--I’m gonna pee on the floor!”

 

**To: Isara**

**Subject:**

**o k**

 

“Pee on the floor, then,” Mao tiredly replies, walking out and locking the door behind him, both physically and with a layer of spells to make _sure_ no one can slip in and disrupt his very special captive.

 

He regrets it after he leaves, takes the train to the Hasumi temple, and keeps thinking about Ritsu and _hoping_ he’s all right, dangling from his ceiling in a magic net. He bows at the entrance to the temple before trotting inside, and immediately can feel the strange swirl of magic that encircles the place, heavy with far more wards than he’s ever felt on the Hasumi property before. _Why do I always have to be the last to know about things?_

 

**To: Hasumi Keito**

**Subject: Here??**

**It feels like if I come in further everything’s going to eat me???**

 

Instead of answering the text, Keito comes out, dressed in loose hakama and kimono, smelling like incense and fresh from performing morning devotions. He pushes up his glasses, then jerks his head towards the door. “We should be alone for a little while, at least. Tell me everything Ritsu told you, we’ll try to sort this out and devise a plan of action.”

 

Mao glances around warily, still unused to feeling any particular area so _protected_ , and he finally nods, stepping forward after Keito. “He didn’t give me a ton of details, but I got as much out of him as I could. I should have been keeping up on him more, I know, I’m sorry, Hasumi-san,” he groans. “But he’s normally so well-behaved…and I never thought he’d do something like this, he’s…”

 

He trails off, suddenly sensing that some of the strange magic is coming _directly_ from Keito, and he stares at him until the magic comes slowly into focus. “H…Hasumi-san…” He reaches out compulsively, almost touching the chain that flutters into view from Keito’s chest, then hesitates. “What… _is_ that?”

 

Keito looks wearily at Mao. “Be glad that you don’t have one. Ritsu has spared you that, at least. Have a seat.”

 

He folds into seiza himself, folding his arms over his chest. “So. The world is ending and everyone is jumping a different direction. That about sum it up?”

 

“…But that’s…isn’t that a…” No, he’s not going to assume anything, not with Hasumi Keito, who is more likely to smack him with a fan than answer his questions, anyway. Mao awkwardly drops down onto the floor, cross-legged. “Ritsu told me that the President was building an army, or something? But I don’t even know what to believe anymore. If he really did kidnap Sakuma-san’s, uh, husband, then…”

 

“Sit properly when you’re in a temple, Isara,” Keito says sternly. “Yes, he did. Though since it’s Wataru, I doubt that there was much coercion involved, but...”

 

He shrugs. “So, this is how matters stand. Eichi is power-mad and has kidnapped Wataru, Sakuma Rei’s former husband and prince of the Fae.”

 

Mao bites down on a sigh, and shifts to sit into seiza, no matter how his legs immediately complain. “Former husband,” Mao echoes, his eyes sliding to that chain dripping from Keito’s chest again. _What does it feel like?_ he wants to ask. That level of demonic magic is something he’s never directly run into, or even seen someone affected by up close like this. “So…then…that pact is completely called off? That sounds…bad.” He has no idea what to expect, actually. “Has the Demon Queen contacted your family yet?”

 

Keito shakes his head, the tips of his ears flushing slightly. “I’m not entirely...certain that she knows of this, yet. Neither of us have left the temple, and I don’t know that she knows about Eichi’s antics yet. If so, she’s preoccupied with that--and I’ll take that reprieve as long as I can. The longer someone else is the problem, the longer I stay alive.”

 

“I mean…after talking to the Demon Queen a few times over now, this kinda sounds like the sort of thing she’d be thrilled about? Ritsu told me she never wanted Sakuma-san to marry a faerie in the first place, but it was kinda unavoidable…” Mao trails off, fidgets, and finally can’t _help_ but blurt out, “So are _you_ like, kinda married to him now? I thought that was illegal—but if Sakuma-san’s a Demon Prince, does that mean he gets to change the rules? Because, heh, that would be convenient—“

 

“You want this, Isara?” Keito demands, plucking at the chain piercing his chest, the one he knows Mao can see as well as he can. “Enjoy the hunger pangs and the fact that he’ll have a legal and unavoidable right to your blood. And of course, the knowing looks from every other Watcher and creature. And, you know, you’ll die.” He’s said it enough times now that it’s starting to have less horror for him.

 

Mao’s mouth opens and shuts for a moment, and then, impetuously, he points out: “Hasumi-san…don’t Communion Chains only work properly if both parties involved actually want it, though? So, uh, at the risk of being rude…”

 

“Watch your tongue,” Keito snaps, ears flushing darker red, cheeks joining them. “Want has nothing to do with it. You want Ritsu, obviously. But you know full well that there will be consequences.”

 

“I mean, yeah, I know that—but—“

 

“Nnn, Keito, you didn’t enchant the windows up again so there’s sun _everywhere…”_

 

Mao tries not to stare too much as the door slides open, and Sakuma Rei himself drags himself into the room, dressed in what is _absolutely_ one of Keito’s yukata, and he sleepily perks up at the sight of Mao. “Ahh, Isara-kun! Is Ritsu here?”

 

“Ah…no, he’s—“

 

“That’s probably for the best, I’m not sure if I’m ready to explain myself to him yet,” Rei laments, flopping down next to Keito and immediately draping himself against him, nosing into his neck. “Keito smells good this morning…”

 

“You’re a homosexual embarrassment,” Keito says without much rancor, pushing at Rei’s face. Rei smells incredibly good today too, and he almost instinctively noses against him as well, somewhat startled at how strongly his body reacts, murmuring, _this is right, this is perfect, this is my mate._ “We have a guest, Sakuma. Behave yourself, we’re trying to talk war plans.”

 

Staring is rude, Mao knows, but, uh—so help him, he’s never seen Keito _not_ just hit Sakuma Rei across the face with his fan upon arrival, so this is new. Realizing he’s gawking too openly makes him shake it off with a visible shake of his head, and he nervously shifts, feeling like he’s intruding on something _really_ intimate all of a sudden.

 

“Mmn, scary.” Rei’s eyes lid, and he licks Keito’s palm once before backing off, though not without remaining with his cheek firmly pressed to Keito’s shoulder. “Courtesy of my mother? Or…”

 

“Your mother actually hasn’t…really reacted to anything that’s happened yet,” Mao hesitantly puts in. “More than anything, we’re trying to deal with the President—um, Tenshouin-san. I’m sorry to ask, but…did you know that Ritsu was his Patron?”

 

Rei pauses at that, his expression darkening at that. “No. I missed that. The insinuation Ritsu talks to me about that sort of thing is…laughable.”

 

“We need to address what might be the most chilling part of this whole thing,” Keito says slowly, looking between Mao and Rei. “I checked with my grandfather this morning. He hasn’t heard from Airi either.” True, he’d been very busy trying not to beat the daylights out of Keito as he’d lay with his head pressed to the floor, confessing his sins. But still, he’d been very clear. “He says it isn’t unusual for her to miss a check-in, but...this does seem like odd timing, doesn’t it?”

 

“I told you, she doesn’t care,” Rei yawns behind his hand, butting his head once against Keito’s shoulder before slowly slithering down to the floor. Morning for these damned humans feels like he’s up at 4 in the morning, and the unpleasantness of the sun makes it impossible to sleep. “If something happened to her, I would know about it, anyway. Honestly, she’s probably lying low, making sure the fae don’t think this is _her_ fault…my mother didn’t get this old without being smart.”

 

“I can always drop by the house with Ritsu,” Mao warily suggests. “She likes me, so even if she’s there and in a bad mood, she’s less likely to attack me than say, ah, you, Hasumi-san.”

 

Keito rubs his head, trying to put everything together, but he’s never been the one to come up with plans. He’s fine with executing them once they’re in place, but if people are looking to him for advice... “We’re all doomed,” he says sadly. “I have no idea what to do. I don’t know if we should run or fight or wait for it all to blow over, and if I ask anyone for advice, I’ll be removed as Rei’s Watcher. And with my damn luck, that separation will probably kill us both.”

 

“I’ll kill anyone that tries to take you away,” Rei says over another yawn, trying to shake off his sleepiness with a long stretch. “Ugh. Keito, I’m hungry,” he complains, grabbing for Keito’s arm. “Feed me and I’ll think of something that’ll fix this.”

 

“Last warning, Rei, behave when we have company,” Keito says wearily, pulling his arm away from Rei’s seeking fangs. “I’ll give you all you want as soon as the meeting is over. You’re not going to learn bad habits just because of a Communion Chain.”

 

Rei huffs, then flops face first back onto the floor. “Fine. _You_ come up with a solution, then, and I’ll just lie here and die.”

 

“…Is this what Communion Chains do to them?” That’s distressing, because Ritsu is already far more demanding than this.

 

“No. It’s what being without my violin for a day and a half does. She must miss me so much—“

 

Mao exhales as he looks back to Keito. “If you need me to go to her house, I will. I have Ritsu safe and sound elsewhere, at least, so nothing can happen to him. Is the President still talking to you? Maybe he’ll stop waging war now that he, um, has his…’prize.’”

 

Keito sighs, and pulls out his phone, slowly typing out a text. “Hold on, I’ll find out. Rei, behave or I’ll give you a task.”

 

**To: Eichi**

**Subject:**

**what are you doing now today**

 

“I’m behaving, you’re just being a horrible tease,” comes Rei’s muffled bemoaning against the floor. “I’m _hungry_ and you’re not being nice to me.”

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: having a GREAT day**

**did you know? about this communion chain stuff? wataru didn’t really either but it doesn’t matter (ww) we know now and he’s MINE**

 

Keito’s traitorous heart thuds painfully, and the Communion Chain gives him a punishing _thwap_ , a rebuke for his wandering feelings. So, Eichi is truly in love, and with someone else. That’s...he tries to think that it’s a good thing, but it still hurts, a double-hurt combined with the scolding from his Chain.

 

“He says they’re bonded,” he says, voice hollow in his own ears, and he doesn’t meet anyone’s eyes, frowning down at the phone.

 

**To Eichi**

**Subject:**

**yes i know about the stuff. are you pausing in your quest.?**

 

Rei lifts his head, and decides not to comment, even as he scoots a bit closer and flops his head down onto Keito’s thigh all the same.

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject: eh**

**I mean? I got what I wanted I suppose. and it turns out faeries are a lot easier to piss off and a lot more fun because now they can’t be mad at me because wataru is mine? why, are you worried about me still~**

 

“That’s…is that good?” Mao warily attempts. “Ritsu said that might happen. Maybe that means all the faeries and demons will stop being upset about this wedding…ahh, but working out another deal to smooth things over politically might be a little…”

 

**To: Eichi**

**Subject:**

**b careful. faris are devious.**

 

**To: Eichi**

**Subject:**

**faeries goddamn**

 

“Apparently Eichi is poking the Faerie behive,” Keito says slowly, staring down at the phone. “If we’re lucky, everyone will be too busy trying to twist the laws around to stop him from taking over Fae to come after any of the Demon court, which is of course good news for all of us. So. All I can think is that we need to be prepared in case of war. Everyone carry a nail made of cold iron, identify nearby sources of running water at all times, make an amulet out of Fuga Daemonum, put oatmeal around your doors.”

 

**To: Keito**

**Subject:**

**I know, isn’t it the best? wataru is such a delight i’m keeping him forever**

 

Rei rolls slowly onto his back, then heaves himself up onto his feet with a long, wincing stretch. “Again, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank you, Tenshouin. Knowing my mother, she’s probably already gotten word of this, and is absolutely lying low to avoid being blamed for it. Ahh, I suppose I’ll call in a favor and check on her, I’m not ready to go home and be yelled at yet…”

 

He plods off with another yawn, and Mao hesitantly slides his gaze away from Rei to look back at Keito. “I’ll make sure Ritsu ends his Patron agreement with the President…as well as I can, of course. He doesn’t really listen to me, no matter what I do.”

 

Keito waves a hand. “He won’t be able to do much of anything with Ritsu if he’s formed the Communion Chain with Wataru. I know he thinks he’s going to be able to have two Patrons, but honestly, I think even Eichi is going to be overwhelmed with a new Communion Chain, especially with a Faerie. At least...I hope so.”

 

Then he frowns, turning to Rei, and says, “Rei, if you fetch me a cup of water from the sacred well out there, I’m certain I’ll feel well enough to let you feed.” He locks eyes with Isara for just a second, just long enough to hint _wait around a sec_.

 

Rei stops mid-stride, and immediately changes direction as if he were _always_ headed towards said sacred well. “On it~”

 

Mao watches, his eyebrows slowly lifting. First of all, he can’t even get Ritsu to get him a glass of water from the _bathroom sink._ “…Ritsu doesn’t seem to think that’s the case…but maybe he didn’t know that the President formed a Communion Chain outright. Ahh, he’s probably so mad at me,” he frets suddenly, thinking of Ritsu dangling in that net in his bedroom. “I wish I hadn’t left him there like that, but…”

 

In short order, Rei returns, dropping down next to Keito with a wooden cup in hand. “Drink up, kit—ah, sorry, I suppose Isara-kun counts as _the public._ ” He’s been warned about certain nicknames being ‘inappropriate’, but censoring himself proves easier said than done.

 

Keito shoots Rei a fond, if mildly dirty look, taking the cup and drinking from it with a penitent bow of his head. “Thank you. But fine, if you want to be around for our entire conversation, then hear my advice to Isara, and be warned. Salt packets, Isara.”

 

Rei freezes, and the look of someone who has been utterly betrayed crosses his face. “Keito, that’s too cruel. Don’t have him subject poor Ritsu to such a thing—“

 

“Wait, that’s a _thing?_ ” Mao interrupts, his eyes wide. “I thought that was just something Watchers joked about, or something humans used to spread around because it made us feel better—y’know, like garlic actually _doing_ anything.” After watching the way Rei practically drinks marinara sauce, garlic is some definite bullshit.

 

“The salt thing is real.” Keito reaches up fondly, petting a hand through Rei’s hair in spite of himself. “Now you know for a fact that I find you tolerable, or I’d have used that against you a long time ago. You know what to do with it, Isara, or do I have to explain?”

 

“Uh…no…I know what to do, but…” Now that he thinks about it, that _does_ seem like a pretty sweet thing to use as a threat. It won’t _hurt_ Ritsu, or leave him tied up for hours—it’ll just annoy the crap out of him, and sometimes, Mao really does want to return that favor. “And here I thought you were super violent and that’s how you got demons to listen to you,” Mao sheepishly admits. “Hasumi-san is really sneaky after all…”

 

“He’s so cruel,” Rei groans, slumping against Keito’s hand, butting against it like an enormous cat. “Don’t talk about salt anymore, it makes me nervous.”

 

“I’ve never done it,” Keito insists again. “I’ve seen Grandfather do it to Airi, though, so I know it works no matter how powerful the vampire is. Go on back to your charge, Isara. Oh, and if I hear of you leaving him alone to play with your little band at school, I’ll have you stripped of Watcher status so fast your head will spin. These are dangerous times, and a lot of people went out on a limb to make you a Prince’s Watcher at your age.”

 

Something akin to panic briefly flashes across Mao’s face before he rapidly nods, clambering to his feet. “Got it,” he mutters, brushing his knees off. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him, I promise. Have a good day, Hasumi-san!”

 

With that, he all but bolts out of the temple, and Rei heaves a sigh, wiping a hand down his face. “Ritsu’s going to eat that boy alive one day,” he wistfully says. “Young love and all of that, how cute.”

 

“Yes, very cute, come have a drink.” Keito rolls up his sleeve, offering his brachial artery. It’s odd, but he doesn’t feel nearly as drained as he usually does the day after Rei drinks from him. If anything, he can feel his blood thumping against the walls of his veins, as if it wants to find an outlet.

 

“Uh uh. Thigh or neck. Arms are so… _distant_.” Rei scoots close again, a hand on Keito’s thigh and his nose already nudging against Keito’s hair. “Arms are for vampires that _don’t_ have handsome Watchers for mates.”

 

Keito turns as fast as he can, looping his arms around Rei’s neck, feeling warmth rise in his chest all around the chain. “Then take what you want, Prince mine,” he murmurs, swinging a leg over Rei’s thighs. “Your Watcher is your mate, after all.”

 

The warmth that spreads in his own chest absolutely must mirror what Keito feels, and it nearly makes Rei melt back down to the ground. “ _Now_ you’re not playing fair,” he groans, helpless to do anything but drag Keito deeper into his lap, his mouth already on the arc of his throat. “Saying things like that _and_ smelling so good…” Keito pushing him so neatly aside in public makes it that much more _satisfying_ to be able to bite down now. Maybe for anyone else it would be infuriating, but Rei loves it, and savors the taste of Keito’s blood on his tongue that much more now when he bites eager and drinks, shallow and slow. It only takes a single swallow to make him feel satisfied, and Rei draws back with a shiver, his fingers squeezing languidly against Keito’s hips. “Mm, thanks for the meal~…”

 

Keito blinks, his eyelids fluttering languidly, and he tilts his head back slowly. “You don’t want more? I’ve got plenty for you--fill your belly for once, let me really satisfy you.”

 

The words almost sound like they’re coming from someone else’s mouth, but they drip off of Keito’s lips anyway, feeling natural with every syllable.

 

Rei’s mouth suddenly goes dry, and he swallows, huffing out a breath against Keito’s neck. “Don’t invite vampires to gorge themselves, that’s the first rule,” he murmurs, even as he gently nips at Keito’s skin, unable to help himself. Just licking up that little droplet of blood is satisfying, spreading warmth all the way to his toes. “You should know that, Watcher-sama. You could fill my belly in _other_ ways, if you’re so inclined…”

 

Slowly, Keito draws out his fan, the steel core under the bamboo a reassuring weight in his hand. “I’ll fill you in every way,” he promises, licking his lips. “But first, indulge me. Drink again. Trust me to stop you if you go too far, I’ve got my fan ready.”

 

Rei’s eyes flick down to the all-too familiar fan in question. It’s reassuring as much as it is threatening—Keito _is_ quite deadly with that thing, after all—and that settles the worry in the back of Rei’s mind that he might just go too far if he’s given free rein to drink as much as he likes. Keito is just human, after all; a delicate, warm-blooded human that he just so happens to be bonded to, but still…human.

 

And fucking _delicious_.

 

“…Fine,” Rei hedges, though there’s not _much_ hesitation behind the response. “Don’t get angry with me if I get out of hand.”

 

Biting to drink his actual _fill_ is something he hasn’t indulged in since England, and then it was biting with the intent to kill. Picking the perfect spot on Keito’s neck to sink his fangs into comes first, and Rei nuzzles at it, mouthing a wet, sucking kiss there to better bring the blood eager and fragrant to the surface. Normally, he bites with less precision, not _wanting_ the blood to flow fast over his tongue for fear of taking too much—this time, he bites straight into Keito’s carotid, and the sudden, bright pulse of blood over his tongue makes him groan, his fingers biting into the bones of Keito’s hips as he drags him close.

 

Keito thinks most people would probably find the experience of having their blood...drunk? drank? consumed?...like this to be an unpleasant one. Usually, it’s more overwhelming, with the vampire venom coursing through his body to make him more docile, to rouse his body to ecstasy, to make him crave and desire the bite.

 

Since they’ve been bonded, however, it’s been different.

 

Keito doesn’t feel like falling down, he feels like clinging to Rei for everything he’s worth. He doesn’t feel drained and cold, he feels energized and refreshed, like a plant with too many limbs that’s just been pruned. It stings a bit, but the venom feels more like a warm fire on a cold day than an electric current of pleasure, and he finds himself smiling, tapping Rei’s cheek gently with the fan. “Three seconds until I rap you,” he breathes as a warning.

 

Being able to drink like this is both exhilarating and mind-numbing—which is why Keito’s words sort of blur together in Rei’s mind, making him initially growl when he’s touched unexpectedly.

 

Right, right, that’s Keito, he’s not _eating_ him, he’s just…just drinking _from_ him, that’s different.

 

God, it takes effort to pull back, though, and Rei almost doesn’t manage it. Only feeling the tug on his chest, feeling the way Keito’s pulse seems to thrum through his own does it; any other human would be properly _consumed_ , because Rei is certain he wouldn’t stop. Counting those three seconds is torture—one, two, three long swallows, he manages to do it that way—and prying his mouth away makes him whimper. Feasting like that makes him dizzily sated, and he slumps forward, nosing mindlessly against Keito’s shoulder, panting open-mouthed and with blood-stained lips that he reflexively flicks his tongue out to lick clean. “D…don’t let me do that all the time,” he rasps. “You taste so good, I’m gonna die…”

 

Keito sways where he sits, lashes fluttering as he blinks, trying to get himself back under control. Rei had taken quite a bit of blood, he thinks, but no more than he would have given at a blood drive. The main difference, of course, is that it had all left his body at once, which is something of a shock to the system. Still, however, it seems as if his system has found some loophole, given that he’s able to feed Rei to this extent, and he tucks his fan back into his sash. “Didn’t even need it, you were so good. Ahh, Rei, tell me you’re having fun at my side. I’m not...too boring a mate, am I? I’ve never been this before.”

 

“Nooo, you’re good, you’re the best…” Rei topples forward, urged on by Keito’s praise, which only results in Keito’s back hitting the floor and Rei nuzzling up on top of him, flushed and overtly pleased with being _so_ well-fed. “Whoever tells you that you’re boring needs to be shot,” he mutters. “I’ve never thought you were boring. You’re fun.”

 

“You’re literally the only person who has ever told me I’m not boring,” Keito murmurs, petting Rei’s shoulders, his back, up to his hair, hauling him down for an iron-flavored kiss. “You can just...basically have whatever you want, you know.”

 

He reaches down, cupping between Rei’s legs, feeling him already half-hard, looking up to meet his eyes. “If there’s something you want...”

 

Rei’s eyes flutter, and he lurches down into that touch, arching against Keito’s hand as he steals his mouth in another kiss. “You,” he mumbles against his mouth, gently nipping at his lips, and sucks on his lower lip with a scrape of his teeth. “Just…I want you. Nn, I have since I was a dumb nine year-old, you know that.”

 

He paws a hand down to the ties of Keito’s hakama, curling long fingers into them. “You’re spoiling me, kitten.”

 

Keito lets his fingertips sink into Rei’s ass through the thin fabric of the yukata, letting his own legs stretch out, rubbing against Rei, letting all of their skin drag and rasp against each other. “That’s...a rather inaccurate nickname,” he gasps, head darting to the side to nip at Rei’s ear. “Am I not given to understand that the cat in a relationship is....usually...hmm...”

 

“I suppose you’d be a terrible cat in that sense…” Rei teases, even as he wriggles his way between Keito’s thighs, sighing out a breath through his nose at the way Keito’s fingers feel digging into his skin, and even more at the way it feels to languidly rub his cock against another warm body. “Too much of a tightass.” He unravels the ties on Keito’s hakama. “But you’re still ‘kitten’, that’s how this works.”

 

Keito reaches down, freeing his cock as soon as his hakama are loosened, guiding one of Rei’s hands to it. “I’ve never known why you want to call me that, Rei. You’re far more...mmm...catlike. The way you...arch your back, you lovely creature...”

 

“Because you…” Rei’s thoughts trail off when his hand is pressed against Keito’s cock, and he shivers, curling his fingers around it for a long, slow squeeze. “Fuck it, ask me later, when I’m not…when you’re not touching me,” he murmurs, slowly sliding down, nuzzling his way down Keito’s stomach and mouthing a kiss to the jut of one of his hip bones.

 

The breath catches in Keito’s throat, and he tangles his hands in Rei’s hair, urging him down, down farther, encouraging rather than forcing. “Go on,” he begs, trying to sound cool and in control when he wants to rut up desperately. “Fill your belly another way, husband.”

 

The word that had made him so anxious and unhappy barely a day ago now just makes Rei shiver happily now, his cheeks flushing hot the moment he mouths a kiss to the underside of Keito’s cock. “Who says I’m gonna let you come in my mouth?” he lowly teases, pausing to run his tongue up that pulsing vein in Keito’s cock, then swiping it over the tip for a quick taste. With the way Keito’s cock is already dripping, he draws back with a sticky little strand attached to his lips, and he snaps it with a flick of his tongue. “Maybe I’ll get you so riled up you’ve just _got_ to shove it in me again.”

 

“Then I’ll just have to fill your belly another way.” The words come out eager, rough around the edges, and he loses the fight against himself, forcing Rei’s head down between his legs.

 

Nothing feels better than Rei’s tongue, his lips flirting with the head of his cock--except maybe the way Rei’s mouth feels when he’s struggling for air, trying to be good all at once. “Be good,” he half-orders, half-begs. “Be good, Rei, be good for me, do your job--”

 

There’s something overwhelming in the best of ways when Keito loses control like this. It leaves Rei more than a little desperate to please, and having Keito grab at his hair and force his head down makes him hurry to part his lips and choke down Keito’s cock when it’s shoved into his mouth. The sound that wells up in his throat is muffled, but no less eager when he lets Keito’s hands drag him down, and that hard, twitching cock slides against his tongue, dripping and aching.

 

Keito’s head lolls back against the floor, his spine arching in a dramatic arc, raising his torso off the floor as he gasps. “Rei...Rei, _god_ , Rei, it feels so--can you take more?”

 

God help him, he’s drawn pictures about Rei with his mouth stuffed, cheeks bulging, eyes watering, drool dripping from his mouth. This is just as good, far better than the image because it’s _real_. “I want you to--take it all, you’ve got to take it all, I bet you can--”

 

The way Keito arches up against him isn’t kind, but ahh, now probably isn’t the time to think about how Ritsu has always been far _meaner_ about this, sometimes holding his head down until Rei had weakly scratched at his thighs for mercy.

 

…which, of course, always just made his dick harder, and this is no exception.

 

Rei’s eyes flutter, lashes wet from how his eyes water from the effort it takes not to gag when Keito thrusts up against his mouth, and he swallows hard as he lends himself to the pull of Keito’s hands, letting the rest of his cock ease down his throat until his nose buries into the short, coarse hairs at the base of it. The blotchy, ruddy flush on his cheeks burns so hot that it almost hurts, and Rei’s fingers tremble where they splay against Keito’s thighs, his tongue working sloppily to taste what he can, even if Keito is buried so far down his throat that it’s almost impossible.

 

Keito makes the stupid, horrible mistake of looking down at Rei, seeing his blotchy cheeks, seeing his eyes red, his mouth slick and wet with saliva, his chest heaving, and only Rei’s earlier tease keeps him from exploding that second. He grabs at Rei’s hair, tugging him off suddenly, gasping, “If, I’m going to come if you don’t, if you want something else, it’s, ah, your only chance--”

 

Rei gulps for a full breath, his stare dazed and not entirely comprehending for a moment before he hauls his way back up, and grabs Keito’s face in his hands to kiss him hard.

 

It’s a sloppy enough kiss that Rei has to lick up the trickle of saliva that runs down Keito’s chin, and he rolls them, hastily hiking up his yukata as he drags Keito up between his thighs by the front of his thoroughly mussed kimono. “Fuck me,” he insists, his voice rough, hoarse around the edges. “Please, love the way you feel in me, I need it—“

 

Maybe someday, they’ll have done this enough times that Keito doesn’t lose his damn mind. Maybe...but that’s certainly not the case yet. Just now, he’s got to be inside Rei, or he’ll lose his mind.

 

“Lube?” he asks, hoping Rei can chime in before he slams in without caring, mind already half-gone with lust.

 

“God, fuck it,” Rei pants out, spitting into his hand and reaching down to drag it down Keito’s cock, spreading the slick precome at the tip of his cock down it as well. “’s fine—sorry if I’m loud, your grandfather can fucking deal—“

 

Keito doesn’t really want to have thoughts of his grandfather in his head right now, but Rei is right--he can fucking deal. His grandfather has never made him feel like this--

 

Another thought he doesn’t want in his head right now.

 

All he wants to think about is the way Rei feels sinking down onto him, shivering and tight and not really slick enough, only wet with saliva and precome as it slides in. “You’re so...” Words fail him, and he reaches up to play with Rei’s chest, fingers squeezing, tugging on his nipples, using that tiny bit of leverage to urge him down faster, harder, further.

 

It’s definitely not slick enough, and that tense, hot edge makes Rei pant and gasp. It takes more effort to get Keito’s cock _in him_ , and Rei grits his teeth as he shoves himself down at the urging of Keito’s hands, wriggling down until his thighs tremble in protest. Those pinching, pulling fingers on his nipples are a distraction that makes him yelp, and Rei reaches up to grab at one of Keito’s hands, holding it to his chest as he bites at his own lower lip until it nearly bleeds. “ _Fuck me_ ,” he insistently groans, squirming down, his thighs splaying wider. “C’mon, Keito, fuck me up, I can take it—“

 

Something snaps inside Keito, and he moves suddenly, shoving Rei onto his back, yanking his thighs apart with strong, accurate hands, eyes blazing behind his lenses. “It’s not about what you can take,” he groans, head dropping down to Rei’s shoulder, and he bites, painfully aware of how inferior his own teeth are compared to Rei’s. Still, it feels good to sink his teeth in, one more way to make Rei _his_. “It’s about what you want--and you want this, don’t you? You want me, you love me--”

 

“F-fuck—“ It feels like his body is burning, all tingly nerves and aching muscles, and Rei helplessly grabs at Keito’s back, fisting his hands into his kimono, then clawing directly into his spine. His legs quiver and shake before falling open obediently, almost as if the bite to his shoulder is some kind of wordless command. “I want it, I want you—Keeitoo…” His name escapes as a desperate whine, and Rei’s head thumps back down onto the floor with a ragged huff.

 

If Rei hadn’t worked him up _so_ sweetly before they’d started, maybe Keito would have been able to endure more than a few seconds of hearing his name whined so beautifully--but like this, with the squeezing and the thrusting and the _moaning_ of the beautiful vampire under him--

 

He’s a Watcher, not a god.

 

Keito cries out against Rei’s shoulder, hips snapping up so hard it stings, not slick enough even as he comes hard, spilling deep into Rei over and over, each pulse feeling like it’s wringing the life out of him.

 

“Fuck, _fuck_ —“ Keito coming in him _does things_ to his brain. It makes it shut off, which should be nice, but then Rei can’t stop the way he claws into Keito’s back, or the way he _has_ to lurch up and bite, clamping his teeth down into the curve of Keito’s shoulder as a reminder that Keito is _his_ , with muffling the noises he’s making a useful by-product.

 

Coming this hard hurts, especially when his body seizes up and clenches down onto Keito’s cock, making Rei inhale sharply against Keito’s shoulder, his eyes tearing up. His thighs clamp down against Keito’s hips, trembling there as his cock pulses between them, spilling hot and slick against his stomach.

 

Keito somehow manages not to pass out, even if the blood thunders in his ears. He struggles for consciousness, and manages it for another long moment, long enough to press almost frantic kisses to Rei’s face, his neck, his cheek again, his chest, every part of him he can reach, fragments of love songs darting through his head, words failing him.

 

Somehow, Rei manages the strength to pry his mouth off of Keito again, and he flops back, grabbing for Keito’s face and dragging it back up to kiss him. More and more, he’s certain that Keito tastes like _him_ —or maybe he’s just all fuzzy-brained and not thinking clearly when he’s still shivering and sated. “…We fucked up,” he absently murmurs. “I’m _never_ gonna be able to rule over the Underworld like this.”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re going to rule the Underworld and ignore your responsibilities to play the violin and make me take care of everything, just as you always have.” Keito places a sound kiss on Rei’s lips again, smiling softly as his glasses slip down off his nose and he doesn’t even try to correct them. “It’ll be terrible. Let’s do it.”

 

“Ahhh. Right.” Rei strokes a hand slowly, contently down Keito’s back. “But you’re forgetting the part where I _insist_ on having sex with you all the time, so how’re you going to take care of everything?”

 

“Mm, don’t worry, I’ve thought of it. Once I get used to the sensation, I’ll just have you on your knees with your mouth busy when I’m doing paperwork. It sounds very relaxing, actually.”

 

Rei pauses, and then squeezes his thighs around Keito’s waist, promptly wriggling down to see how easy it would be to rile him back up again. “See, you can’t _say_ things like that, though, because then you’re going to make me horny and I’m pretty sure demons have a much faster refractory period, so this could be an _issue_ —“

 

Keito’s hand darts out and grabs his fan in a heartbeat, resting the hard edge against Rei’s throat. “I will lay you out flat,” he says with a groan, shoving at Rei’s chest. “I don’t want to die this way.”

 

“Why not?” Rei breathlessly laughs, not _exactly_ put off by Keito’s fan, not yet. At least he’s nice and slick inside now, and clenching down on Keito’s cock, even if it’s soft, is a lot more fun. “It seems like a lot more fun than dying in regular ways…”

 

Keito yelps at the too-intense sensation, and reverses his grip on the fan, whacking Rei upside the head. “No! Ouch, not yet!”

 

“Owww! Mean, I barely even moved,” Rei complains, smacking Keito’s shoulder half-heartedly and growling as he shifts and wriggles away, giving up. “I miss when biting you made your dick hard. _Then_ this would be easy.”

 

“But impractical for being married,” Keito points out. “Makes sense, for the long haul.”

 

He tugs his hakama back up, for a thin layer of protection from Rei, if nothing else, and lays back in utter contentment. Thin slivers of daylight filter gently through the slitted blinds, so tightly shut that it evokes moonlight more than daytime. “The moon is beautiful,” he says softly, looking at the pale white expanse of Rei’s back, broken by the softly curling tendrils of black hair.

 

 _Married._ It hadn’t seemed real when it was Wataru—and Rei supposes it hadn’t been, not really, thank _god._ Not that he’d wish Tenshouin on anyone, but Wataru’s clear adoration of the lunatic has at least saved them both from a fate they didn’t want—and put them both in a position they are _much_ happier about instead, one that makes him blush and feel oddly dizzy.

 

“And I could die for you.” Rei beams, collapsing down next to him, chin in hand. “My apologies for being a troublesome husband.”


End file.
